Press On to Know the Lord - Hosea 6-7

1:30God had not told them yet that he was going to punish them, and so he was gracious to them instead, and he blessed them and he increased their prosperity. And this was all foretold through Jonah. God told Jeroboam through Jonah that, yes, he was going to bless the people, but it's not because they deserved it. And he kind of leaves hanging this idea of you still don't deserve this blessing. You're going to get it. But there's coming a generation where you will hear about it, where you will hear about destruction, and then destruction will come. So I don't know if that made sense, but God said through Jonah, you deserve judgment, but you're not going to get it because I didn't give you a warning. Well, now it's the next generation. And right after Jonah came Amos, and he talked to that northern kingdom. And now, right after Amos, we've got this flurry of prophets all at the same time. We've got Hosea, we've got Micah, Isaiah is going to overlap with these men. And all of them, I think, are making it very clear what God's word is. I think God has testified to the fact that these are his prophets, these are his servants, and now he's sent a message through them over and over and over to the northern kingdom that Assyria is coming. They're about to be wiped out. Assyria is coming. And it's because of their own wickedness. So look at Hosea chapter 4. Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love and no knowledge of God in the land. There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery. They break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore, the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, even the fish of the sea, are taken away. So this judgment is coming. It's not going to be pleasant for them, and it's because they're wicked, and it's because there is no knowledge of God in the land. That's the diagnosis for the northern kingdom.

3:50Look down at verse 6 of chapter 4. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I reject you for being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Look over at chapter 5, verse 3. I, this is God speaking, I know Ephraim. So God doesn't have this problem in reverse. They don't know him, even though they should, but he knows them very well. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me.

4:30For now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore. Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord. This theme that showed up over and over and over when we left off in Hosea. This prophet who God used in the early chapters, this prophet that God used as a living example: go and marry this prostitute, and then go and bring her back to her house as a living example of this is what the northern kingdom of Israel is doing.

5:11This prophet, God is sending a message that his people have forgotten him. They don't know who he is. They don't even know what he wants. They don't know how to return to the Lord because they haven't been paying attention. They've rejected knowledge of who God is. Well, we hear the final, seems to be the final nail in the coffin, chapter 5, verse 13. When Ephraim, which is another name for the northern kingdom, remember that Israel was split into two kingdoms. After you have the united kingdom of Saul and David and Solomon, Solomon's sons split the kingdom. And you have the northern kingdom, which is perpetually wicked, and that's called the nation of Israel. And you have the name. Southern kingdom called the nation of Judah, which is also usually wicked, but has some righteous kings scattered in there. But he's talking about the northern kingdom primarily here. And so look at verse 13 of chapter 5. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah, his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king, but he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. So God is saying, The northern kingdom has started to get the picture. They started to see they're weak.

6:36They started to see that they're in for it, but their answer is not, okay, then we need to return to God. Their answer is, no, we're going to go find help somewhere else. And they turn to the king of Assyria. Assyria is a nation that soon is going to come and wipe them out and take them captive. They turn to the wrong person. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king, but he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. For I, this is God speaking, for I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away, I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.

7:25God is saying, look, they're not going to be able to help you because it's not. Just earthly enemies that are coming to destroy you. I, God, God is coming to destroy you. God is going to come like a lion and rip apart his own people, like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away, I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. But then listen to verse 15: I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.

8:10Yes, God is going to punish this northern kingdom, but it doesn't mean that their future is entirely closed off forever. God is saying, someday there's going to come a day when they do earnestly seek my face. We heard about it already at the end of chapter 3. Sorry for flipping around a lot, but it's been a while since we've been in Hosea. He's speaking about the judgment towards them and their own wickedness in chapter 3, verse 4. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephid or household gods. Afterward, verse 5, afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they shall come and fear to the Lord and to his goodness. In the latter days. So he's already told us about an end times. He'll tell us again in chapter 14 that there is a future time when Israel is going to come back and they are going to repent, that they are going to live under their king.

9:17That is the time that he's talking about, I think, in verse 15 of chapter 5. I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face and in their distress earnestly seek me. And then we get to our chapter. I think this is what they're going to say in that day as we start chapter 6. Pray with me before we start. Father, it's a blessing to us. It is a blessing to us to have your scriptures.

9:51Sometimes we treat these Old Testament passages as having nothing to do with us. Sometimes we treat the prophets as if they were only important for Israel to know and not important for us to know. I pray that tonight we would be eager and excited about jumping into your word. I pray that as we study the heart of Israel, that you'd help us probe our own hearts, discover where we go astray. In the same ways, help us be humble before you. In Jesus' name, amen.

10:42So, God has said, someday you will return, and I think that's how he is starting Hosea chapter 6. I think he's saying, This is what they're going to say when they return. This is their repentance. Look at verse 1. Come, let us return to the Lord. For he has torn us, that he may heal us. He has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us. On the third day, he will raise us up, that we may live before him.

11:17Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going out is sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Some people would take that as sarcastic. That since starting in verse 4 and 5, God will jump right back into the sins of his people and how they're so faithless and they're so fickle, that maybe this is their language, that they're pretending to repent and come back to the Lord. And maybe that's true. But I think it seems to be genuine. I think he's talking about that future day when they will return. And they do say, Come, let us return to the Lord, for he has torn us that he may heal us.

12:16He has struck us down and he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us. On the third day, he will raise us up that we may live before him. I think they're saying, if we repent, if we actually just return to the Lord, he's going to come quickly. Two days, three days, he's going to come back. He's going to come quickly. Let us know, verse 3. This is their issue. This is what they need to repent about, right? Their lack of knowledge of the Lord. And so he repeats it here. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going out is sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. And so we see their repentance. They're trusting in the character of the Lord. They're trusting in his goodness, right? They're trusting in his faithfulness that if they do repent, if they do come to him, if they do press on to know the Lord, that he will come. There will be the rains that they need.

13:20His going out is sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. I think that's a picture of this referral. Refreshment when you need the spring rains and they haven't been coming. And then they do come. And it's this refreshing reality. I think that's what they're saying. God is going to be to us when we repent, when we actually, as a nation, turn back to God. He's going to come, he's going to refresh us.

13:53But as I said in verse 4 and all the way through the end of chapter 7, which is what we're going to try and get through tonight, it doesn't stay as positive. It doesn't stay on their repentance. In fact, it's all about how foolish they are, how wicked they are, how they won't return to God in this generation. I think that God is putting before them this future time when they will be restored to the Lord as a way to say, do this now. Will the faithful in the land, will you return now? Will you stop being like these other wicked men and women? I think we see that all over the place in the prophets as they talk about the great day of the Lord, as they talk about the end times, why would they say so much to Israel about all those things? I think it's to say, think about it. This kingdom is coming. Someday the nations will flock to Jerusalem. The word of the Lord will cover the earth. The knowledge of the word of the Lord will cover the earth. Like the sea. Something that was a. I botched that quote.

15:02But the whole world is going to know. So let's live like that now. Let's trust in his word now. I think that's the message he's trying to get across to them, but they won't listen. Look at verse 4. As we go through all of these, I want us to notice these lies that they're believing. They've rejected truth, they've rejected knowledge, and they're believing these lies. So look at verse 4. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

15:31It's another name for Israel, the northern kingdom. What shall I do with you, O Judah? That's the southern kingdom. And you get this picture of just, what am I going to do with you, right? What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like the morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. What is he saying about them? He's saying they seem to love the Lord, or maybe in a generation they love the Lord, and then it just fades away like the morning dew. It's short-lived. They might get excited about obeying the Lord for a little bit, and then it just goes away. Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore, verse 5, I have hewn them by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light, for I desire steadfast. Love and not sacrifice the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

16:38So, again, we see that theme. God is saying, I want you to know me, I want you to know what I want you to do. God has given them his word for a reason, and they've strayed from it and rejected it. And he's saying, You're pretending to honor me by doing all these sacrifices. I don't want those anymore until you come and you really know me, until there's real righteousness. I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. We've seen that before in the prophets. Yes, God commanded his people to do these offerings, but he didn't want them to be some kind of sin-for-free card. You know, I go do this offering because I want to go sin tomorrow or something. I think they're treating them so unrighteously. And so, he says, verse 5, therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets, like you hew, is that the verb? But you cut out a stone, right? It's not a pleasant thing. He's saying he's chipping away at them. I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.

17:52He is working on them with his words. He sent his prophets, and they haven't been pleasant words. He sent... A lot of prophets, as we've discussed already, this rapid fire, prophet, prophet, prophet, Jonah, Amos, Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, all of them saying, Come on, kingdom of Israel, return to the Lord, listen to his words. God's saying, I have slain them by the words of my mouth. He speaks those through the prophets. And yet, they think that they can keep on putting on a show. And that's the lie for this section, verses four through six. The lie is, I can put on a show and God will fall for it. I can put on a show and God will fall for it. You know, your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Has that been your relationship to the Lord? Did you, at one point, get excited about maybe opening up God's word and seeing what it meant to be a Christian, and you were excited about it for like a day, and then it went away like the dew?

19:09God is saying, I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. He wants the real deal, he wants you to come to him, to truly repent, like we read about in verses one through three. He doesn't want you to lie to yourself and say that you can put on a show and God is going to fall for it. You can do some kind of external. Religious thing like going to church every so often or whatever it might be. God's not going to fall for it.

19:41Well, in 7, verse 7, through the first verse in chapter 7, so chapter 6, verse 7 through 7.1, he's going to paint them as criminals. He's already used one illustration. He'll use so many illustrations in our text tonight, but he's used one of dew, of the clouds, and now he's going to do one of criminals. They're villains. They're murderers. They're adulterers. And the lie here is they're telling themselves that they're not as bad as other people. So look at verse 7. But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant.

20:21There they dealt faithlessly with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together. They murder on the way to Shechem. They commit villainy. Did you catch who's doing this? The priests, right? Like Adam, verse 7. Like Adam, they transgressed the covenant. There they dealt faithlessly with me. I'll let you know that this verse is. Causes a lot of debate and conflict. I don't know if you've ever heard it before. Like Adam, they transgressed the covenant. This is one of the proof verses for something called the covenant of works in covenant theology.

21:15People would point to this and say, you see, from the very beginning, God had this covenant with man that they were always supposed to keep these works. And it's proven here in this verse when it says, like Adam, they transgressed the covenant, because that verse is saying that God had a covenant with Adam. And so we know that God has this covenant with all men. If you're interested in going down that theological trail, which is one that I reject, we have some books on it in the Resource Center. So you can come and talk to me about that sometime. But I think what he's saying here, like Adam, they transgressed the covenant. There they dealt faithlessly with me. Remember, with the word Adam, we always have two options. Because what does the word Adam mean? Man, right? So it could be the guy's name, right, Adam. Or it could just be saying, like a man, they transgressed the covenant. This is what men do. They always are transgressing covenant.

22:18But there's a third option in this text, too. And I think that here, this one seems to be the most likely, that like Adam, they transgressed the covenant. In this generation, there was actually a city called Adam. And the reason why I think it was that is keep reading. So, like Adam, they transgressed the covenant. There they dealt faithlessly with me. So, he seems to be talking about a place. There, they dealt faithlessly with me. Verse 8: Gilead, another city, is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together. They murder on the way to Shechem, another city, they commit villainy. So, if you have other thoughts on that verse, you can talk to me later about it. But I think basically what he's saying is the people of Israel have broken their covenant. And if it is the man Adam, if he's saying it's just like Adam, then just like we studied last week in Romans, God had given Adam a specific boundary and he transgressed. There was a trespass there. And that's the same thing that Israel is doing. They've been given a law and they have transgressed. They've trespassed. They've broken covenant. They've dealt faithlessly with God. Gilead and Shechem in verses 8 and 9, these were the sanctuary cities. You remember reading about the sanctuary cities in the Old Testament? In their law, in their nation, there were cities that God set up that if somebody accidentally killed someone, like, you know, dropped a rock or something, and it killed somebody, it wasn't murder, then they could flee to this city and live there. These were the sanctuary cities. They weren't allowed to stay in their own community because they had murdered somebody, but it's not. As if they went out and intentionally sought to murder someone. So they can go to these sanctuary cities. And there's only six of them in the whole nation. And so they knew their special role. And you can see in this generation that it has been just totally messed up. Right? They've vanquished or given up their special role. Relinquished. That was the word I was looking for. Relinquished their special role. Look at verse 8. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.

24:33Rather than being this haven with a special role, they've given that up. They're happy to sin. The whole city is full of sin. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together. They murder on the way to Shechem and they commit villainy. So you just get the picture that this wickedness is like a joke to them or something. They're like, well, we're on the way to the sanctuary city, anyways. We might as well get some murder over with on the way there. You know, they're murdering on the way to these cities. They commit villainy. Verse 10, in the house of Israel, I have seen a horrible thing. Ephraim's whoredom is there. Israel is defiled. For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

25:23So he says, You know, I haven't forgotten about your sin, southern kingdom. Yes, I'm talking mainly to the northern kingdom, but I have. Haven't forgotten about the southern kingdom. When I restore the fortunes of my people, when I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, the evil deeds of Samaria, for they deal falsely. The thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside. So it's just, you get this picture of chaos. And any time that God does bless them, when I restore the fortunes of my people, when I would heal Israel, all it does is expose their sin. The iniquity of Ephraim is revealed and the evil deeds of Samaria, for they deal falsely.

26:07You see what he's saying there? They're going through these trials, and God steps in and blesses them, and they take those blessings, and they run straight to sin. Their iniquity is revealed. They don't turn to the Lord. They deal falsely. There's thieves, there's bandits. It's just chaos. They're not paying attention. Judah thinks they're better than Israel. They think that they're not as bad as the northern kingdom. The people in Israel are pointing fingers. They're not realizing that they're just like the wicked people in those cities.

26:43It's just a mess. They're wicked. Look at verse 2. But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now, their deeds surround them. They are before my face. So, another lie that we can believe that this nation of Israel was believing is that I'm hidden from God. He doesn't see what I do. He doesn't see what I think. Or maybe he sees it and then he forgets. But God says, They do not consider that I remember all their evil. He doesn't forget.

27:33Now their deeds surround them. They are before my face. You know, I think it's just this picture of when this person is standing before God, all their deeds are right there with them, and they are right in front of God's face. He sees it all. All their wicked thoughts, all their wicked deeds. They're not paying attention. Look at verse 3. Now he's compared them to the dew of the morning. He's compared them to criminals. Now he's going to compare them to an oven. Look at verse 3. By their evil, they make the king glad and the princes by their treachery. They are all adulterers. They are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire from the kneading of the devil. Until it is leavened. Let's stop right there for just a second. So he's going to talk about the oven for a while, but that first picture, what do you get the picture of? If you're making a fire or something and you stop to stir the fire, they are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened. This fire is there, it's the hot coals, but he's not stoking it and stirring it and causing this flame to come up. You see the picture? This evil is in them and it's just kind of waiting, waiting to come out. They're cherishing their evil.

29:13One of my favorite proverbs in chapter six of Proverbs says, Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? That's talking about getting close to a prostitute or something, how foolish that is. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? But I think the principle applies here too, right? They're harboring this evil. They love these coals. Look at verse 5. On the day of our king, that's probably the king's birthday or the king's coronation day or something. On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine.

29:58He stretched out his hand. With the mockers. So you have this picture in the northern kingdom. Remember, their kings are foolish and wicked almost all the time. And in this generation, they have had king, king, king, king, king. They're all murdering each other. They're all ruling for short times. They're all very foolish. And now he's showing, he's talking about this kind of king that on the day of the king, on the coronation, on his birthday or something, he is reveling with the mockers. He's sticking out his arm. He's getting drunk with wine.

30:33But these other people with the oven, verse 6, for with hearts like an oven, they approach their intrigue. All night their anger smolders. And in the morning, it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me. So he's just continuing this scene of this mess. And part of this mess is the kings and the princes that are just in their drunken revelry.

31:11But another part of this mess is the people who are just always harboring this evil. They're making these wicked plots so that when a new king takes over, he can reign for a year or two, but then they're waiting. In the morning, that fire is going to blaze, and they're going to knock that king off his throne and put in their new favorite guy. All of them are hot as an oven. They devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me. This is a disgrace. He's going to return to this disgrace at the end of the chapter. This is a disgrace. They keep kicking out their rulers.

31:46It's not how it should be in God's kingdom. Another lie is that they can play with fire. They can harbor this sin, and it's not going to have consequences. They can do what they want to do, but they don't realize it's leading to this disgrace and this mess, this lack of knowledge of God. Look at verse 8. Another lie is that I'm fine without God. It's another lie they told themselves. I'm fine without God. Look at verse 8. Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples. Ephraim is a cake not turned.

32:28Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not. Gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. The pride of Israel testifies to his face, yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all of this. Ephraim mixes himself with the people. Ephraim is a cake not turned. That word for cake is like a bread cake, so like a pancake, is what I think of, or a tortilla. But I think it can. Pancake is an even better picture. You know, I love making pancakes. And when you heat it up, and the time to flip it is when the bubbles start to pop. Is that true? You wait till the bubbles start to pop, and then that's just the right time, and then you flip it over and you cook the other side, and it becomes a delicious pancake because you flipped it and you cooked it just right. If you tried to make one without flipping it, it wouldn't turn out well, right? You're either going to be successful in cooking it all the way through, all the way up to the top, but the bottom is going to be gross, burnt, right? Or you're not successful, and the top is gross. That's the picture that he's using. Ephraim is a cake not turned.

33:46He mixes himself with the people. He's tried to, the Northern Kingdom has tried to incorporate the worship of God with these other pagan practices. Remember in Hosea, we've seen that they set up these false altars in Gilgal and other places. They love to worship under these false priests in a way that God doesn't permit them to. They've incorporated their worship with pagan worship. Ephraim is mixed with the people, and the result is not some super holiness. It's not a super cake, right? It's a bad cake. It's a gross cake. You didn't turn the cake. They tried to mix, and it only led to. A bad result. Verse 9: Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not. So stuff is going very badly for them, and he doesn't even know. He's not paying attention. God has sent his prophets, but the northern kingdom doesn't know that they're about to be totally wiped out. Life's about to change forever. They're still just waking up every day, loving their sin, and not caring what God says.

34:58Not knowing that in just a few years, they're going to be wiped out. Gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. I think that's a picture of a foolish, you know. I don't know why he did this. I didn't pay attention to all the stories, but I saw headlines about how Mike Tyson was going to go and have another fight this past year. He's in his 50s. And he fought, I think, wisely against another guy who's in his 50s. And they had a draw. It would be really foolish if Mike Tyson didn't know he was old, right? If he didn't know he had these gray hairs and he goes and tries to fight against this young, athletic guy, he's going to get beaten up, right?

35:45That would be foolish. I think that's the kind of picture he's given. Gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not. He doesn't realize that he's reaching old age. He's about to get wiped out. His time is almost done. He's delusional. This northern kingdom. Is delusional. They don't realize that they've grown old and they're about to pass away. The pride of Israel testifies to his face. Yet they do not return to the Lord their God nor seek him for all of this. So God has sent them messages. They don't care. They're not returning.

36:20They're not repenting to the Lord. They don't need God is the lie that they've believed. I'm fine without God. And then for the rest of the text, we'll see a partner lie with that is that I have other options besides God. Look at verse 11. Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria. So another picture. We've had the oven, we've had the dew, we've had the criminals, we've had the cake, we've had the old man, and now we have a dove. Another picture. This is what the northern kingdom is like. They're like a silly dove. You know, he's flying over here and then flying over there. He realizes, okay, maybe I am a little bit weak, weaker than these nations that are around me, but I'm not going to turn to God, certainly not. Instead, I'm going to call to Egypt, Egypt, can you save me? Down in the southwest. And then he's going to call over to Assyria up in the northeast. Assyria, can you save me?

37:21Not realizing those are his worst enemies. He's silly, like a dove. He's just flying back and forth. And so, verse 12, as they go, I will. Spread over them my net. I will bring them down like birds of the heavens. I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation. That last part's a little confusing, but it seems to be something like according to what God has told them. Just as he said, the report given to them.

37:49God's going to destroy them. Verse 13. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me. Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me. I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds. For grain and wine, they gash themselves. They rebel against me. All right, so we've already had this chaotic scene where they love their sin. Everything's a big mess in the northern kingdom. God is calling out to them, but they're rejecting him and they don't even know God. They don't know what he wants. But now God has disciplined them. They're crying out on their bed. They want food. They want grain. They realize that stuff is terrible. And they still won't return to God.

38:44They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds. They're lying in bed. They're crying out. They want grain and wine, but they want to keep rebelling against God. They gash themselves, something that was forbidden in the Old Testament law, right? Something that they're mixing in pagan practices with. They're trying to say, okay, God, maybe this is what you want. If you don't like the sacrifices, I'll cut myself and I'll scream on my bed. And I'll see if you listen to that and give me some bread. You just get the picture. They have no idea who God is, what God wants. Verse 15. Although I, this is God speaking, although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. So just like somebody who was trained by a teacher or a coach, that then the student turns against the teacher. That's what God is saying. He's saying, I'm the one who blessed them. I'm the one who raised them up into this nation, and yet they're turning against me.

39:54They devise evil against me. Verse 16. They return, but not upward. They are like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. There's a lot packed into that last verse. So he says, they return, but not upward. I think he's saying something like, they've realized they've made a mistake. You know, maybe they've realized they've made a mistake in worshiping the asherim or something. They stop believing in this fake idol. And so they return from that, but not upward, not to God, to the true God. Maybe they abandon their asherim and they run over to Baal and see if they worship him, that he'll bless them or something. So they're realizing that they're reaping the rewards of what they've done, but they're not realizing that the answer is just return to the Lord. They're not listening to the prophets. They return, but not upward. They're like a treacherous bow or a bow of deceit. I think that the picture there is like a bow and arrow that you shoot that can't aim or something. And so I'm aiming at a target and I pull back and I fire and I hit my friend over here. It's a treacherous bow. And so they've got this goal, oh, okay, we'll repent, we'll return. And they aim and they say, yeah, we're going to return to God, but they let go and it ends up somewhere way away because they don't know what God wants. They think that God wants them to cut themselves or worship like the pagans or do sacrifices while still having an evil heart. There's no true repentance. Their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. So since they're being foolish, since they're being rebellious with their tongue, with their speech, God is going to continue to allow their princes to fall until soon in this generation, he's going to allow the northern kingdom to be totally wiped out.

42:00In 722 BC. And he's saying, This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. Their kings are going to keep falling, and then their king is going to fall for good. The northern kingdom is never going to have another king again. And they're going to get made fun of for it in Egypt. Egypt was one of the countries that they flew to like a silly dove. You know, oh, we'll go there instead of returning to God. But when they get to Egypt, they're just going to get made fun of because they don't have a king.

42:35It's quite a diagnosis, right? God is exposing the heart of his people, exposing the heart of his nation, saying that they have wandered so far astray and believed so many lies that this destruction is coming. He's going to tear them like a lion, like we read earlier. He's going to leave them there, torn up. He's going to go off to his own place until someday when they return and repent again. But that day is not today for them in this text.

43:21And this generation that he's speaking to, they have no interest in repenting. They've heard what the prophets have to say and they don't care. They'd much rather flee. To Assyria or fly to Egypt. They're not listening. They believe the lie that they could put on a show and God would believe it. They believe the lie that they're not as bad as the men in these other cities. They believe the lie that they're hidden from God, that He doesn't see their iniquity, but God says He does. He sees everything. They believe the lie that they can play with fire, that they can harbor these wicked desires. They believe the lie that they're fine without God.

44:01They believe the lie that they have other options besides God. This is their wickedness. They don't know Him. They only know lies. They don't know the truth. And so I think the challenge for us as believers is: do we do what He says in verse 3? Let us know. Let us press on to know the Lord. Do we do that? As Christians, we believe that we are people that God saved by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be paid for and forgiven forever.

44:47Something that we cherish, it's something that we sing about every week. But he also wants us to know him. And as His people, I think that our responsibility is. To know him, to press on to know the Lord. I think that as we grow in Christians, we'll realize how much we were wrong about in our first year of Christianity, right? As we're growing more. And as we get later, we'll realize how much we were wrong about God in our fifth year of being a Christian.

45:23I think that we can be like a silly dove that is just flying around, is not paying attention and pressing on to know the Lord. I think we should desire for the opposite to be true. We should desire to know him, to truly know what he wants. You know, have you ever felt yourself wanting to pray to God, but not knowing how to pray, or wanting to have a right heart at the Lord's Supper, wanting to have a right heart when you come to church, but not knowing what the Lord wants, or something. I think that's a symptom of not pressing on to know the Lord. We should press on. We should keep trying. We should study the scriptures as much as we can, every part of it. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.

46:16If you've never done that, if you never come to the Lord, if you're an unbeliever, I encourage you to. Like we sang in the song, Come ye sinners, weak and wounded. Sick and sore, that it's not about your fitness. It's not like you have to be spiritually fit to come to the Lord. You don't have to get right with the Lord before you can come to Him and be forgiven. That's actually impossible. That's not the point.

46:46All that's required, as we were saying earlier, is that you just come, that you understand your need for Him and you come. And I think that that is what He's calling this generation to. So let's read that repentance one more time before we close in chapter 6, verse 1 through 3: Come, let us return to the Lord, for he has torn us that he may heal us. He has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us. On the third day, he'll raise us up that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going out is sure as the dawn. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth. Pray with me. Father, we can trust that you are good. We can trust that you're a kind and gracious and merciful God that loves to bless, that wants us to come and repent, that wants us to come and confess that we're sinners, that wants us to come and return to you.

47:47Not because we deserve it, but because you're merciful. Help us get the lies out of our head that we can live life without you. Help us get the lies out of our head that we're not as bad as the next guy. Help us get the lies out of our head that we have other options besides turning to you, finding forgiveness in Jesus. Help us have a heart that always wants to return, that always wants to repent, that always wants to humble ourselves before you.

48:33And thank you, Father, that we can. Thank you that you forgive us. In Jesus' name, amen.