Faith From The Streets

Hosea 9,10 & 11

• Gary Hardy • Season 1 • Episode 26

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0:00 | 1:25:28

Sir Brian is back with his velvet soothing voice reading Hosea 9, 10 and 11. Joining today as always Tommy , Scott, Jacob, and Iron Nathan. Just a bunch of fellas doing the best they can to read and study the Scriptures. Hopefully helping those listen enjoy and learn with them. Remember Jesus loves you and so do we here at Faith From The Streets.

SPEAKER_01

God takes care of his people. He does. Like we were saying a couple weeks ago, the mountain surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds his people. You know, and to throw back a rage against a machine, which is actually borrowed from one of the prophets, but they rephrase it, Jesus blessed me with a future and he'll protect it with fire. You are sealed, hemmed in by the God of the universe who keeps watch day and night, leading you along the way. He dwells within you. You have nothing, not even death to fear.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

That's why you see so much, you know, like we're talking about the cultures of the world, everybody's got like a utopia streak in them. We want to create the perfect society. Everybody's happy, healthy, lives forever, there's no sickness and death. You cannot create that. God already did. We broke it. We can't unbreak the thing we broke to make it unbroken.

SPEAKER_07

But like you're from the streets.

SPEAKER_03

Yo, good morning. Um thank you for tuning in for another uh another good episode. Here we got Sir Brian. Hello. Yeah, uh Scott with us. Howdy. We're doing Hosea 9, Tom and I. Tom. How are you doing? And uh my name is uh Jacob. Uh I know before we started uh going back to Hosea, like we were, Tom and I both had something uh that came to our hearts that we wanted to share. I've started reading uh Henry Nowen's book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. Uh there's two things that kind of stuck with me in it, uh, really just in the introduction. I'm not very far in the book, and it's kind of more of a pamphlet than a than a whole 300-page book. Right. Yeah. Reflections, yeah. Um one quote is uh Henry Nowin is remarking on his priesthood, and he was a scholarly man at Harvard and some other some other uh kind of theological theological places of that nature, and he uh went on and kind of not changed entirely, but was called to a different uh different kind of mission. And he says, uh I was living in a very dark place, and the term burnout was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death. And that really that really resonated with me a lot. You know, not that I necessarily have come across full-on spiritual death or burnout, but I've definitely myself felt those things, and it can be easy to, I think, in some circumstances. It's a terrible place to be. Yeah. Um so really it it's set on my heart just to have something to be aware of and to watch out for and to keep track of. Um and then he goes on to say uh a few pages later, and he's and he's talking about relevancy and irrelevancy. Uh Henry Nowens is talking about himself in this in this book and his his experience, and he was saying how he felt very relevant in Harvard and all these different places, and it kind of put him in this position to be able to give something. And then with this new mission he was taken to, he has nothing to offer other than himself. The people he was talking to and kind of missioning or what have you, discipling, uh weren't aware and were unable to be made aware of his being going to Harvard and having all these degrees and these successes and whatnot. So he has he's irrelevant now. So he's remarking on those two two things, and he goes to say on page 30 of this book is uh the great message that we have to carry as ministers of God's word, and that's everybody, you know, as you come into Christ and are baptized, you have a new vocation in a general kind of way, which is what he's talking about. The great message that we have to carry as ministers of God's word and followers of Jesus is that God loves us, not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life. Yeah, and I thought that was just when I read that. Yeah, that was absolutely a mic trough. Um, you know, I I can't fully endorse the book. I haven't read it all the way, but so far I would I would say it's it's really good. And I think you know, Scott and I were talking about it just over text the other day, and it's definitely something that I've enjoyed. Um yeah, in that that first chapter or so was really cool. Thank you very much. Tom, I think you had something.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I'm still kind of on my proverbs kick, and and I'm gonna I'm saying that this probably kind of goes along the same lines of what you were saying is uh Proverbs 5-7. So now, my sons, listen to me and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. And our thing in Proverbs is talking about how to be a good leader in the household, how to take on that role as the head of the household. But I also want to bring up uh a little bit about some of the other stuff that's going on in Proverbs uh chapter 5, 3 through 8. It's we should be on guard against all that use those flattery and smooth talk, like pretty talk. Um that's definitely something we need to watch out for. This is what meant by the lips are as sweet as honey.

SPEAKER_03

Trying to sound all smoothed words, you know.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah. You know, your your words sound really pretty, but what are your actions showing me? And that's been something that's pretty prevalent in my life is um you have to be the discernment, you have to be able to realize that this person is just telling you what you want to hear, or they're just responding to what they feel like they should be responding to. Um but that may lead us into others to other types of sin. We've got to be careful of that, and not take a detour to avoid we've got to avoid those conversations and try to maybe with those people like like bring them back to center, bring them back home. Like don't let them get too far out of like realize that they're pretty talking you and be like, okay, let's maybe steer this this way. And it's not easy to do, and sometimes you'll you'll offend people, you'll make people upset, you'll make people mad.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I think there's a balance there with also being quick to listen and really because I I find myself sometimes I'll hear the first few sentences of what somebody's saying, or even the first one, and I'll jump to conclusions right off the bat. Yeah, so I don't want to you taking out assumption with what you're saying, I think is an important aspect of it. You know, James, be quick to listen slowly. Again, it ties in with all the things.

SPEAKER_01

Listening like Jesus did. Um just like you're saying. And then I think all of us suffer from the mode of we're trying to be three steps ahead of the conversation and we're treating a person as a problem rather than a person. Therefore, we jump in with a correction, and we may not have even listened to the whole thing or offering a solution that that exists. And not really understanding. And then they feel pushed aside.

SPEAKER_07

Well, I brought this up, I don't know if it was at Friday's Bible study. Um, I don't remember where I was at. Um, but it's sometimes, especially, especially for men, just listen to what your spouse is saying. Yeah, you say that to me with Gracie. There you go. You know, we've got a lot of young couples that are engaged and they're starting their lives that way, and the one piece of wisdom as being a husband and a dad before is sometimes you can't fix the problem, and they don't always want you to fix the problem. They just want to be able to come to you and say, hey, and get it off their chest. And it's your job, the incarnational listening and listen and just be there for them and let them get it off their chest. Men are notorious for automatically going into how can I fix this? How can I fix this?

SPEAKER_03

Because that's just what we do. Well, look at Job. You know, his friends were great until they opened their own. They're good for stuff.

SPEAKER_01

And after that, they're inseparable. Yeah. Yeah. So just it took me 20 years in marriage almost to learn that. And so I approached my wife, or she lets me know, do you need me to fix this or do you need me to listen?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah. Now I will say you verbalize that question. Now I will say you will run into the situations where you'll get, well, you should know.

SPEAKER_01

I've never done that yet.

SPEAKER_07

You're very fortunate, but you will get situations where the spouse will say, Well, you should know, or that's going to be why they get mad at you because you don't know the difference. But that's when you have to rely on patience and love and understanding and realize that there you'll find the balance though. You'll you'll find the boundary there. But it's just be patient with one another, listen and and take in what they're saying.

SPEAKER_03

Ephesians, Ephesians 4. Is that what I'm thinking of? That's what it started to sound like.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's just it's we that's the biggest thing, and remember that you love that person, and that person loves you. You're not there to fight or argue or cause strife. It's about being one. And you made such a great uh analogy of that when we talked a couple weeks ago, that let what God has put together no man tear apart, and we are man and woman, and we are made in God's image, which is both parts man and woman. So who's to say that when we become one, we don't just stay one when we're not here anymore?

SPEAKER_03

And that's that's saying I've I've I've heard that for a long time, and I always imagine that. Let no man tear it apart. So if I see if I'm an external thing and this thing God has put together, I, you know, don't tear that apart or don't be part of it. But it's also internally, it's it's both externally and internal internal.

SPEAKER_01

The greatest touch to anything always come from the internal.

SPEAKER_07

And that's what we go into. It's all about the heart posture, it's coming from the heart. And, you know, it it's it's a goofy line from a movie, but you complete me, you know. There's a lot to that. And I, you know, I and I've seen a lot of marriages that are like that, you know, and that's the way it should be. You should be one, but you should also be an individual as well, and be able to live with one another. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you, brother.

SPEAKER_01

Have a new husband by Monday with Tom.

SPEAKER_04

All right, brother. I will I will begin to read uh Hosea 9. Um, and you you will take a lead on it, brother? Okay. Do not be glad, O Israel. With rejoicing like the people. For you have played a harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlot earnings on every threshing floor. Threshing floor and wine press will not defeat them, and a new wine will defeat them. They will not remain in the land of Yahweh. But Ephraim not remain in the land of Yahweh, but Ephraim will return to Egypt and in Inferior. They will eat unclean food, they will not pour out drink and offerings of wine to Yahweh, their sacrifices will not please him. Their bread will be like mourner's bread. All who eat it will be defiled. For the bread will be for themselves alone. They will not enter the house of Yahweh. What will you do on the day of the appointed festival? And on that day of the feast of Yahweh. For behold, they will go because of destruction. Egypt will gather them up. Weave will possess the desirable items of silver. The days of punishment have come. The days of recompense have come. The Israel knew. The prophet fool. The inspired man has madness. Because of the abundance of your iniquity, and because of your hostility has abounded. With my God a prophet of a bird in all his way. And there is only hostility in the house of his God. In the wilderness, I saw your father as the earliest room on the fig tree in his first season. But they came to be out the yard and devoted themselves to shame. And they became as intentional as that which they loved. No bird, no pregnancy, no conception. Yet I will read them until not a man will be left. Woe to them, indeed. When I depart from them, Ephraim, as I have seen, is planted an apartment idea. But Ephraim will bring out his children for killing. Give them all your way. What will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb undry breath. All their evil as a Gilgal indeed. I came to hate them there because of the evil of their deeds. I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more. All their princes, our rebels, everybody is stricken. Their root is dried up. They will bear no root. Even though they bear children, I will put to death the desirable ones of their womb. My God will despise them because they have not listened to him. And they will be those who flee among the nations.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So Hosea works itself out like we saw the first three chapters, Hosea and Gomer. There's kind of an overview, and then there's a quick, here's what's about to happen. Now we're in this detailed breakdown that we left off on. He starts in verse 1:0 people of Israel do not rejoice as other nations do, for you have been unfaithful to your God, hiring prostitutes or hiring yourselves out like prostitutes, worshiping other gods on every threshing floor. This is a fascinating verse that no one's ever going to look into, so that's why I'll tell you that. So do you remember the story of Ruth and Boaz? Where was he staying the night when Ruth found him? Okay, so the common practice not only to work overtime to get work out of the way, but to protect your grain. The other thing that was provided by your company as a service to these people were temple prostitutes. They would come spend the night with you while you guarded the grain if you gave an offering to their god. So now he says basically by doing that, which is the theme Paul picks up on in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, you're worshiping other gods on that very threshing floor. You know? He says, so now that harvest you're protecting is so small, it won't be able to feed just you. It's also a throwback to Gideon. We find him in the wine press underground, threshing wine to protect it from the Midianites, just enough for the one meal for his family for that meal, right? But now he's pouring that language out saying, it's not even just going to not feed you. There's no grapes for making new wine. In verse 2, uh you can't stay here in the Lord's land. Instead, you will return to Egypt. And that's important because it's not God that's going to return them there, it's himself. Because you've got to remember that like Israel's leaders are going back and forth with alliances between Assyria and Egypt. And Hosea was saying they're both uh bad. Breaking that alliance is untrustworthy with or with untrustworthy Assyria and fleeing for help to the equally untrustworthy Egypt would also forestall Israel's destruction. The only hope they have is return to God. And that's what God is saying. He's like, look, you may go to these places, you may have food, but then he talks about verse 5, what will you do on the festival days? How will you absorb the Lord's festivals? Even if you escape the destruction, Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver, thistles will invade your ruined homes. Again, this imagery of when God destroys in this prophetic sense, what's left over is what nature takes back.

unknown

Right?

SPEAKER_01

You ever seen those? Like we like I watched a show Discovery Channel did it. It was like five minutes after humanity ends. It would start like then and it would go like a hundred years out, or like you'd see like eventually it just turns back into the natural state of things. That's what God is saying. Like you my destruction will be so thorough in this matter, the only thing that can happen is nature just taking it back, you know, in the sense of my creation taking over your homes. And then what do you do? And then he talks about how evil they become. Verse 7 through 9 is really important here because it says the time of Israel's punishment has come, the day of payment is here. Soon they will know it all too well. Because of your great sin of hostility, you say the prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools. We live this right now. Um because when the world gets so crazy, and and Hitsby's like, uh I hear this going on a lot in the world from political analysts, theologians, theological people, uh, we're at a very heavy inflection point in the world right now, where lots of changes are happening. Um, this is an inflection point for Israel to the point where right is wrong and wrong is right. That's what's going around. So they're saying the prophets are crazy, the inspired men or prophets and priests and Levites are fools. So the guys who are supposed to be telling you what's right, don't listen to them because they're crazy, right? Um and God even says, He's alluding to that there were schools of prophets coming out that were trained by these governments and kings that were telling lies on purpose. That's why it says the prophet used to be a watchman over Israel for my God, um, but now there are traps laid for him where never he goes. He faces hostility even in my house. You know, so even the truth tellers are always going to face it, even in the very place where God is asking them to tell the truth the most. Um you see the national and religious complications of this idolatry forms, but then he talks about verse 9. It says, The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah a long time ago. God will not forget and will surely punish their sins. Y'all remember Gibeah? So this is like the uh Sodom and Gomorrah companion story, except instead of the the daughter. So the depraved thing they did was they defiled the the concubine of that man's house and then cut her into pieces. So God is saying, That's how bad you are as my people. That's the things you're doing. And it says, He will surely punish them for their sins. Um and so if you you know, we can talk about this a little more. It's uh in Israel's history, a couple stopped overnight in Gibeah. And again, it's the Sodom and Gomorrah type thing, but it's from Judges 9. 19 and Judges 20.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I was thinking about the judges part of it because it's basically they're just doing what they want to because there was no judge.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. Yeah. And so basically what God's saying, the whole nation now has an evil, just like Gibeah have, but they too, as a nation, will not escape destruction. And so then God goes through verses 10. He says, The Lord says, Oh Israel, I first found you, I was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was seeing the first ripe figs of the season, but then they deserved me for Baal Peor, serving themselves the shameful idol, and soon they became vile, as vile as the God they worshipped. So the glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will not be born or grow in your womb or even be conceived. Think about that. Remember, having kids is a sign of favor, blessedness, you know, my quiver is full, all those things in the Old Testament, God's saying, I will strip that completely away. You won't even like you will do the act, but you will not conceive.

SPEAKER_04

And I saw something of this in the Revelation. Woe to the mothers in that day, the same thing will happen again.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. You cannot even give birth. You're so evil. Um and then he says in verse 12, say you get grandfathered in right now because you have kids, even if you do have children, I will take them away from you. Now, a lot of people read that and be like, God's so harsh to mean I don't think God's sitting there standing there with an avenging angel, but world events we're gonna see take their children away. They're either drafted, killed, sent to war, or sent off somewhere else in exile. So while the children may still live, it might as well be as though they're dead. That's what God is saying. That's a pretty intense statement, right? Um, like you're not even gonna be able to conceive children. He says, It will be a terrible day when I turn and leave you alone in verse 12. I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre, but now they will bring out their children for slaughter. O Lord, what should I request of your people? I will ask for wounds that don't give birth and breasts that give no milk. That's Hosea asking God what to pray for. The Lord says, All their wickedness begin at Gilgal. You remember the first thing that we know about Gilgal that happens? I don't remember. The very first king of Israel is who? Saul. Where is he anointed? Saul. Gilgal. Okay. So it's really important to understand that. But Gilgal is not only that, um, it's also really begins uh the entire nation of Israel's uh at this time failure as a nation and a both political and religious features that were supposed to make it distinct. And so idols and kings were substituted for God here. Um 1 Samuel 11.15 is where Saul is is crowned at Gilgal, but by Hosea's time, the owl worship was was really going on there. So it's really important to see that God is pulling out things that we as Western Christians are like, I don't remember all these names, but the Israelites are like, oh, I know exactly what he's talking about. That's where that's where all this started, right? Like, this is where we demanded a king. God said no. He said, Are you sure? We said yeah. Then we got Saul, and look at the train wreck that happened. Then we got David, then we got Solomon, the rest were trash just about.

SPEAKER_07

I don't want to glaze over what you said there. Um this it is written to them, and they would understand these things. Yes. And so we may not understand these names and these places, but the people at the time, it made absolute and complete sense to them. They were, it would have been a close enough time in history that they would be like, oh yeah, I remember that. You know, kind of like for me, one of the things that I remember is Desert Storm, you know, 9-11, those kind of things. Because it was here and it was in my generation. So being removed this far away from it, it is harder for us to understand. Right. But in a hundred years from now, if there is a hundred years from now, nine-11 is going to be the same thing.

SPEAKER_01

Same thing with desert. It's like we still yell like they'd say remember Gilga when we hear people say, Remember the Alamo. Yeah. And we all know what that is, but like somebody else in the world would be like, what is the Alamo? Right. But it's a country kind of specific thing. You know, people in the airport yelling, Remember the Alamo. Yeah. They'd be like, what the heck is an Alamo? But then they'd hear the story and be like, oh, wow.

SPEAKER_07

Texas. Something I want to talk about too, real quick, because I want to clarify. Exactly what are we talking about, Ephraim?

SPEAKER_01

Israel. It's the original name, like Ephraim.

SPEAKER_07

Yes, that's what I want to make sure that we weren't talking about a point.

SPEAKER_01

And God is actually using the word Ephraim here when I say Israel, I just have a more modern translation where people won't. But in my translation notes here, it says over and over again Ephraim equals Israel, Israel equals Ephraim.

SPEAKER_07

Yes, yes. I just want to make sure we clarified that so people understand that it is Israel that we're talking about.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_07

And that's the nation of Israel, as in the people of Israel.

SPEAKER_01

The northern kingdom.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, the people of that are Israel, not a geographic location.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because only Judah and Benjamin made up the north.

SPEAKER_07

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So these are the other twelve thousand tribes.

SPEAKER_07

Ten, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_01

Yes. That's why I said twelve thousand. But look, I want you to, as we look at this chapter, it says in verse 15 that their wickedness began at Gilgal, there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more. That's back to now we're at the the the the blown-out view of naming of Gomer's kids, not my people, not loved. You know, so we're seeing those themes come up again because of their evil actions, because all their leaders are rebels. And it doesn't mean like cool, like James Dean, Elvis Pype. It means they're literally turning away from God. Right. It doesn't mean they're God could give a rip about their political leanings or whatever, but they're not following the law of God. So he says they're rebels.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Bringing in ball and those things. And it says the people of Israel are struck down, their roots are dried up, and they will bear no more fruit. And that's reiterating in a different way the no children thing. Right. Because all their leaders are rebels, and if they give birth, I will slaughter their children. My God will reject the people of Israel because they did not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations. They start where they begin and begin where they end and end up back where they started. Just nothing in wandering.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, the whole wandering in the desert has such a bigger meaning now once we step back and look at it. Because we're all wandering in the desert for a time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

You know, until we find the path, the purpose that we're here for. We are just wandering. And we do have we're we are as bad as what happens in judges.

SPEAKER_01

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Absolutely. It's just hard to do right. What is that?

SPEAKER_03

Do what right what uh whatever you think is right, you do it.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, subjective morality, which is just a terrible way to do things.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

That didn't mention.

SPEAKER_01

I don't remember. Situational ethics. Yeah. That's where it is. Like it's okay to do the bad thing depending on the situation you're in. No, no. That was a big gray area in the 80s and 90s.

SPEAKER_07

Well, I'm gonna bring up something we talked about. What do you believe when everybody's watching? What do you believe when no one is watching? You know, how many people they act a certain way when people are watching, and then when nobody's watching, it's like who is this person? Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Character.

SPEAKER_07

Who are you when no one is watching? Yeah, I think. I I I tend to use the word integrity a lot. Either one works, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. But yeah, that's where chapter nine has us, so we're setting up to kick Israel to the curb, I guess.

SPEAKER_07

So would you agree with my idea that God gives us uh one, maybe two chapters that are this is my promise to you, if you you know, keep me at the foundation, and then this is what's gonna happen when you mess up, is usually like four or five chapters.

SPEAKER_01

It's usually conditional, yeah. Like God really tries to emphasize why you want to follow him, and it's not because he wants you to blindly follow him. He's saying, Look, I made it, so follow the system that I made, or these things that you may have even never heard of are gonna happen to you.

SPEAKER_04

And and and and again, like uh the the process is conditioning. So again, when we when we fall to what we we did what was right in our own eyes. Yes, yeah, and like time and time again we're punished for it. Yeah. Uh yeah, the the the things in between are the conditioning, just like uh you are now crawling back to God. You're like, no, no, look, we were dumb, my bad. Yeah. Uh let's let's let's uh let's follow you again. And then and that's that's what it is. So very good. I'm gonna start with uh Chen.

SPEAKER_01

This is work on sort of just calling out the millionaires of the day. Oh yeah, thousand heirs, maybe.

SPEAKER_04

He produces fruit for himself. The more abundant his fruit, the more altar he abandoned. He abounded. The better his land, the better he made the sacred pillars. Their heart is faithful. Now they must bear their guilt. Yahweh will break down the altars and destroy the sacred pillars. Surely now they will say we have no king. For we do not fear Yahweh. I am the king. What can he do for us? With wordless old cover, and judge judgment flourishes like God and the pharaohs in the field. The dweller of Samaria will fear the car of that air. Indeed, its people will mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests will cry out over it. Over its glory since it has gone into exile from them. The thing itself will be carried to Assyria as a tribute to King Jered. Ephraim will receive shame, and Israel will be ashamed of its own council. Samaria will be ruined with a king like a state on the surface of the war. Also, the high places of Aaron. The sin of Israel will be eradicated, all in the growth, and all their old. Then they will say to the mountains and cover and to the hills fall on. From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned of Israel. We're all the battle against the sun and Josh overtake them and you be there. When it is my desire that I will chatter for them. And the people will be gathered against them. And Ephraim is a trained heather with a love to write. But I will come over her neck with a yoke. I will harrow Ephraim. Jacob will harrow for himself. So with a view to writers, reap and according to loving kindness. Break up your hollow ground. Indeed, it is time to seek Yahweh. Until he comes and reigns righteousness on you. You have ploughed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of deception, because you have trusted in your way, and you are bonded with warriors. Therefore, a rumbling will arise among your people, and all your fortifications will be destroyed. Ashalom destroyed on the day of battle, when mothers will dash in pieces with their children. Thus it will be done to you at battle, because of your evil of evils. At dawn the king of Israel will be completely ruined. Well, this just gets better, don't it?

SPEAKER_01

So he starts out like middle of the verse. Well, first he points out, almost like sarcastic, how prosperous Israel is in verse one, a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But then God says this thing that we all know but the richer people get, the more pagan altars they build, the more bountiful their harvest, the more beautiful their sacred pillars become. So mo money, mo problems, right? The more God gives, the more we spend is essentially it, which is another thing that Hosea said, My people have forgotten me. You know, I fed them, they became satisfied, and when they became satisfied, they forgot me. So it's really important, even in the moments when your fridge is full or your gas tank is full or whatever's full, you praise God and be thankful in just as much as you would be if nothing was there at all and He provided. Because it's easy to forget God, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It's easy to sit back and be like, I've got this, look what I've done. I mean, think about just real life, we have a whole system of like health insurance, life insurance, welfare. Not that those things are bad, but how many people put more trust in those things than they do in God?

SPEAKER_07

At lunch today, we were talking about it again. It's it's you know, we have the faith that God will provide. And just we we seen this afternoon, God provided. I don't know if you saw that or not, but God provided today for a situation that we have in our hometown here. And it's like this is why we have the faith that we have. We know that He'll take care of it, and and it's hard for other people to have the same faith because we're all on a different journey, we're all on a different path. And some of us have gotten further down the road than others. You know, we've had so many situations at the gathering specifically. You know, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? And somebody knocks on the door and there's all this stuff. It's like, ah, yeah, I I knew better, you know. Uh uh fantastic story, actually, and you're gonna appreciate this. Um, yesterday, I went somewhere, I don't remember where, and I was thinking that I had grabbed the van keys so that we could do the van ministry tomorrow or today, and I was gonna put it in the truck. I didn't remember specifically putting it in my console like I normally do. And as I'm pulling it in the driveway, I'm like, I thought I'd put it in the console, and it wasn't there. Opened the door, got out, it's sitting right there in the driveway.

SPEAKER_01

God be praised.

SPEAKER_07

And I it's just one of those things, it's like, thank you. And I did. I I I immediately looked up and said, Thank you, God. I I didn't have any doubt, I wasn't really worried about it. I figured it was either in the console or it was in my pocket, one of the two. And so many times we've seen that, you know, and the gatherings the same way. Just it's just amazing when you have that faith and you rely on that faith. And it it saddens me personally when there are people that don't have it. They don't see it.

SPEAKER_04

But but again, I I think it's it's just who do you trust more? And and some people fall into that trap when they begin to trust the world.

SPEAKER_03

They trust the world, they trust themselves, they trust that they can handle it. Well, it's easy, like Scott said, it's it's easy to forget. It's so easy to forget. Default to our selfish kind of nature. And I think that's part of the reason, among many other reasons, as is any of God's plans, you know, they cover a multitude of problems. Uh Jesus says, you know, pick up your cross daily. Yes. Because I think, at least for me, part of the trick is remembering that I'm forgetful every single day and not having a day where I forget that I'm forgetful. Right. So, you know, trying trying not to be trying to remember God every morning that I wake up and every night that I lay my head to sleep, because that's it's in our nature to forget.

SPEAKER_07

Well, too many times in this world we've used God as a genie.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Bird glass a case of emergency.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, and that's not the case. And once you stop treating him that way, wow.

SPEAKER_04

Well, and and and I still think as being an active player in this world, the world, uh, makes the loudest sound. Yeah. So that's that's what we focus on.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Uh to a degree.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. In you know, verse two says that the hearts of the people are fickle. They're guilty, they must be punished. God's going to break everything down, and then they will say we have no king because we didn't fear the Lord. But even if we have one, what could he have done for us anyway? There's the million-dollar quote from this book.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, uh, one of them. Like, they that that God can, you know, is one of my favorite bands Need to Breathe. They have a song called The Difference Maker, and he talks about, isn't it amazing how a man God can allow, I'm paraphrasing it, but allows a man to find a fortune and ruin it with his own two hands. You know, God has given him that opportunity. Humankind can turn around and just absolutely waste that opportunity. Or they can do great with it. I mean, it just depends on what you're doing. But here, they finally have this realization when it's too late. Like, oh, we did have a king that they didn't help because we didn't fear God, but even if we have one, we realize what could they do to stop what God's got coming? And that's a profound national moment for these people, um, and it's one they won't get to come back from. Um, you know, because that's what God wants them to understand, I believe, out of Hosea, but they're still going to get carted off to captivity. You know, there's still there will be a remnant, but that will come from the captivity. And then when the final then the southern kingdom is carted off to Babylon, and you have Jeremiah and a few other people left. I mean, other than that, you don't have it. Um it says they realize that in verse 4, they spout empty words and make covenants they never intended to keep, so injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer's field. Uh the people of Samaria, verse 5, tremble in fear for their calf, calf idol at Beth-Aven, which that's Hebrew for house of wickedness. Um God is up there spitting fire again, their calf idol at Beth-Aven, and they mourn for it. Though its priest rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away. This idol idol will be carted to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed, and Israel will be shamed because the people have trusted this idol. So not only is God going to take these, because again, remember, the golden calf of Exodus was a 32. Um, now they've repeated that in two places, and Gilgal is what and Bethon is is one of them, where they have these altars of a cow set up to worship. So they're gonna take that, God's gonna take that, the Assyrians are gonna take that, and then use it to make fun of Israel for doing the thing Israel already did and got made fun of by God for, and then they're gonna do it again, and this time they will not escape it. You know, they don't have to drink the gold-laden water in this one, they're gonna have to drink the bitterness of slavery and being deported from your own country at will if you even survive. And so and it says Ephraim will be ridiculed in Israel's shame because its people trusted that idol. Samaria and its king will then be cut off, floating away like driftwood on the ocean waves, and the pagan tribe, shrines of Avon, notice he doesn't call it Beth here, but just wickedness, the place of Israel's sin will crumble. Thorns and thistles grow up. And then there's this fascinating passage, they will beg the mountains bury us, plead with the hills fallen us. This happens in Revelation at the end when the like it the way it's worded is that I think if I remember that correctly, forgive me if I'm not, and I forget which chapter in Revelation it says, they'll call upon all this stuff to happen, but they will seek death, but will be unable to find it. That's terrifying. It is like God turns out off your ability to die in the most horrific circumstances because you disobeyed.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah. It's terrifying because of the fact that it's so bad that you want to die.

SPEAKER_01

Right then you can't. Right. They will seek death and it can't come out.

SPEAKER_07

Um would that be a good uh thought process of what going to hell would be like?

SPEAKER_01

Possibly. I mean There's no no relief but perpetual like tension and anxiety and terribleness.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And you the best alternative you think of is like bury me under a mountain. That's pretty hellish to me.

SPEAKER_07

Well, yeah. I mean, that is an extreme statement, have the mountain cover us and the hills fall on us.

SPEAKER_01

Like part of that statement is, if I remember correctly, it's both they're ashamed, uh, but they also are so suffering that they just want to die. So like it's got to be better than this. But they're so ashamed because they know they're the ones who have caused the mountain to fall, if you will. But God says it's too late. Like, I've given you centuries, literally centuries, to pull this together. But you're not. And then in verse 9, it says, Then the Lord says, Oh, Israel, ever since Gibeah, and remember that event, uh, there's been only sin and sin and more sin. You have made no progress whatsoever. Wow, that's uh you don't like that report card.

SPEAKER_02

No.

SPEAKER_01

It says, But was it not right that wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? Now, whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. Ephraim is tr is like a trained heifer treading out the grain, an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck, and I will force Judah to pull the plough, and Israel to break up the hard ground. I said, Plant good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plough then, now it becomes the introspection on the individual. Plough up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you. So again, during the judgments, there's always grace. You can stop this at any time if you choose. Right? Plough up the hard ground of your hearts, for now it's the time to seek the Lord, and he may come and shower righteousness upon you. But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies, throw back into the Garden of Eden, uh, trusting in their military might, believing that your great armies could make your nation safe. Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. This is Israel's chiefest, is that a word it is now? Uh their greatest sin, if you go through the Psalms, what David rebukes is their trust in their own national power without God. So that's why David will often write, Some trust in chariots, uh and horses, we trust in the name of the Lord our Gods. Um, I read a book, I forget who wrote it, and I can see the cover, it's called Behold Your Gods. Um, and it was about this very thing, how one of the biggest downfalls of Israel was they became the world's elite military. They became the greatest force on earth in that period of time for a very small period, and they took very much pride in that. Does that sound familiar? I know we aren't Israel, but we are God's people.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, as much as I I see the connection there, relying on the might of your army, yes, that's great, but then look at David and Goliath. Right. You know, in this situation, to be honest, we're Goliath. We're not David. Correct. A lot of people think we are Goliath, or they think we're David.

SPEAKER_01

Like we're the righteous stone thrower.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and we're not. Well, let's go back to Isaiah, you know, or you read the first two chapters in the remarks on that same idea about trusting in chariots, and then in verse 58, you know, it's specifically about fasting, but I feel like it's in a more broad kind of way. It's it's saying, you know, this is how this is how you come back to to the Lord, you know, seek uh justice for the widow and the orphan and these things. Stop trusting in, you know, these the the military and the chariots and the horses and what have you, and and go and and be with your your neighbor in those ways.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And it and and I this starts in American Christian theology not too long ago. I can't remember, but how Lindsay wrote a book called The Late Great Planet Earth. And it set the tone for the entire Left Behind series, which I'm not a fan of. Um, but that's a whole other episode, maybe. But um basically his point in that was a direct thing from uh Proverbs as a dog returns to its vomit, so one man returns to his sin. His opening lines of that book are Christianity will only prevail in the world if America has the strongest army. And he is a thorough theologian in the church at this time. He's the co-writer of Left Behind, you know, the guy who does the chosen's dad as one of those writers, um, although he he doesn't believe that. But that sets the stage for what we know in our country right now at this current juncture that Hosea would be talking to that we call the religious right, or the religious left, whoever's using religion in any way for this kind of thing. Um, but again, look at us. We're like, we have the most powerful military in the world. We we we can do anything we want. But then now we've rolled up to Iran and they're like, can you though? You know? Um and for once we're finally realizing, wait a minute, maybe we shouldn't trust in these things so much. And I say we in general, not maybe we at this table or we in the church. But as a people, we're like, yeah, as long as we've got tanks and bombers, you know, it's fine. You know, guided missiles. Okay, but you know what? If you don't have God, none of that matters.

SPEAKER_04

No, agreed, agreed. And that's and it's the departure from that that's the scariest thing.

SPEAKER_01

So, how do we recreate the power of God? Well, you can't, so you use force and coercion through weaponry that you can create, right? Right to get what you want. That's what God is chastising here. Like, you have put so much stock in being full of yourself as a nation that you forgot how to be a nation of God. You know, and that's where the downfall comes. But God shows that, hey, if you do these things, if you get rid of the hard ground in your heart, plow it up, seek me, I will shower righteousness upon you. Right? It's but he says, but you but you can't sometimes because you've cultivated this crop, you've eaten the fruit of lies, you've trusted in military might. Like, they are literally doing the thing. They're going back to Egypt to try and get a treaty to protect them. They were told specifically, do not ever go back to Egypt.

SPEAKER_06

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Like, even as the king, one of the things God says that Solomon immediately breaks almost is making treaties with Egypt.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He goes right back to it.

SPEAKER_07

So when we were talking about America there, I'm reminded of this particular part of the book, Poems and Prayers, is called America Yet. And uh on the American Dream, it's Langston Hughes, I guess, wrote it. Uh Land America is a land that has never been yet. America is a land that, like any individual with the ambition and will and will to improve, be better and succeed, will never arrive. Always on our way. America is a dream that is a constantly updated yet never realized a place that will never be yet. The hero we chase, America is the heavenly place we seek our transcendent and better selves that we will never catch, where we improve and we will never be our best because we have the courage to continue the pursuit. America is where we fight for equal opportunity and will never acquire it, where we seek justice and will never meet its measure, where we pursue righteousness and we will still be wrong. The mountaintop will never crest, yet continue to climb the place where we have to and never will, the unattainable, dream in the land of opportunity to chase it. That's America. As Americans in America, we must be dreamers in our land of dreams, never satisfied members of the marathon that has no finish line, with an unquenchable thirst, believing in and forever chasing ideals which we will never attain. United in ascension as a nation and a people who refuse to stop growing. This is the American dream, our country's promise. Eternally unfulfilled, permanently in process, staying in the race, committed to the chase now and forever yet. I think that sums up a lot. I mean, the American dream really hasn't ever happened yet.

SPEAKER_01

And it's not it's supposed to be something you chase, not with the idea that you'll ever attain it, but making you better along the way.

SPEAKER_07

So you can improve along the way, which you know that's kind of what we're seeing here is you guys keep messing up and you can improve, but you don't. Right. You keep going back to your old ways, you keep falling back on false gods and idols, and I'm still yourselves. Yeah, and and I'm fascinated by the fact that it's always just cow. It's always a calf.

SPEAKER_01

I don't and like you to take the Israelites out of Egypt, but in some cases you can't remove all the Egypt out of the Israelites.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, and that was a very prominent symbol for fertility of a lot of gods. Goddesses back there were cows. That's why God says Israel has become a fat heifer.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He's like, you want to talk about the real cow in a room, it's not the one to go worship, it's you.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know? That's a good point. And so he says that you will you've done all this, and verse 14, now the terrors of war will arise and take over your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shaloman destroyed Beth Arabul, even mothers and children were dashed to death there. You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness, when the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

SPEAKER_07

Reading this part, I'm reminded of what happened in the unpenetrable fortress. They walked around, what, seven days, seven times, and all they did. Oh, Jericho. Jericho. And all they did was yell and blow a trumpet.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

And that right there should give you an idea of, yeah, you've got a great powerful army, and you're impenetrable, and blah, blah, blah.

SPEAKER_01

But God went before you and did all the work. He made such a thing that they killed themselves. Yeah, like they fought each other in most of these battles because God did such a thing. Well, I mean, that's usually what happens in all these situations. God sends first. But then they wake up and the entire Avenging Angel has gone down and slaughtered 75,000 people.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And they're like, oh, I guess we're just on cleanup today, y'all. But then you look back to David and Goliath, where they sat there and cowered for 40 days and nights. Even King Saul. And so his men are grumbling, like, what a cruddy king we have. Because he's the one who should be out there fighting Goliath. They're like, what a chicken. So David comes along and he's this little kid, and they're like, yeah, whatever, yeah, just get this over with.

SPEAKER_07

And since you brought it up, thinking about that, how much of like there had to be something there where Saul was willing to allow that to happen.

SPEAKER_01

I think because he was just so articulate with his words and he knew what was happening, God put his spirit in him. There was no refuting this teenager.

SPEAKER_07

Because wasn't it a situation where if I kill your best warrior, then we'll all be enslaved. Yeah, at least.

SPEAKER_01

And they send out But David gets mad. He's like, Y'all are mad, but not for the right reasons.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You're mad because you're stuck here, but you're not mad that he's blaspheming God. Yes. And Saul's finally like, you know what? Maybe that's the key in all this. So I think that's why that transpires. The Holy Spirit's moving there. But even before that, Satan tries to disrupt David's brother, is like, what are you doing here? You're just here to get the gossip.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Might have been. But at the same time, too, like Saul was willing to let David go in his own armor. Right. So again, so that he could still have faith in this battle. Yes. But the armor did not like it held David back. So we'll just skip on the other. So it wouldn't look like Saul did it. Right.

SPEAKER_03

Armor is kind of trusting and Terrier's in the horse. But I mean, honestly, if I'm in that I'm putting it in.

SPEAKER_01

But like, I get it, but David's like, no, I'm not. Because remember, Saul is huge.

SPEAKER_07

And now that we've said it, us having the faith to not put on the armor. Yeah. Put the armor of God.

SPEAKER_01

God has already equipped you with your armor. Right.

SPEAKER_07

And like we were talking, it's like, again, I understand, but there are some of us that are like, it's going to be okay. God's got this. God's going to provide this. And it's weird because you get it it's I guess it's not weird. It's sad. It's sad that the people that we're around don't have it. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we don't.

SPEAKER_04

I had a discussion with uh a brother and sister today. So and and and uh I think it was just having a conversation aloud that brought that to mind and realization. Again, perhaps we don't speak about this at all. What what faith in God looks like, not just in the end, but like every single day.

SPEAKER_01

Even if that means walking toward your earthly end. What does faith look like? Agreed.

SPEAKER_07

And that's one of the things that I automatically do when I wake up is I am grateful for that chance, grateful for that opportunity, and to walk forward in that faith, and to share that faith with other people. And it's just it's so beautiful and amazing to be able to do that. And I feel terrible for the people that can't. Like I want them to, and I want to show them that so bad, and I think that may be where you're at, too, a little bit. So you want to share the joy that you have? Yeah, you want people to feel what you're feeling, to understand that.

SPEAKER_03

Oh guys, come on.

SPEAKER_01

They're missing the point here. But but that's something that you can't put on another person. I wish we could. Well, and that's because people are like, these Christians are always telling us about Jesus. If you only knew, yeah. Like if you only knew why we wanted you to that and the other, it's if you only knew what God gives you in place of those things, you would never look back. Yeah. Um to different people, those things look differently as well, to a degree. So like you said in the beginning, we're all on the same journey, just not at the same spot on the path. You know, so they may be in a valley while we're at the mountain, or they may be climbing up the mountain while we're going down into the valley.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Or we may all just be sitting on the mountaintop singing kumbaya for a while. God gives us those times too. And then that's the thing too, people need to be more content and learn how to be content. Yeah, you don't need everything.

SPEAKER_07

But we live in such a world where everything is at our fingertips. I mean, you can quite call and have something delivered to your house within moments. You know, and that goes with not just food, with anything.

SPEAKER_01

You know, so And when you build a society like that, you get Hosea.

SPEAKER_04

Gentlemen. I'm sorry. Just a departure. This is a departure. All right. I uh I have stickers inbound. I do stickers inbound. They're coming to me now. Um and the thing is, is uh I'm going to put them on uh I was I was uh I was actually given uh a mode tractor and I'm gonna put them on my mo tractor so that it looks like a Zamboni. So I'm sorry, that tickles.

SPEAKER_05

You're gonna put your portal functions on there? It's gonna be like Duncan Ghost.

SPEAKER_06

Really ghost.

SPEAKER_04

It's gonna be Duncan don't know. Is it really a pair of stickers? And it and it just tickles me. I can I can have that much fun with it. That's that's what it is.

SPEAKER_07

And see, right there is another great example of being content and having the joys and not being so involved and worried about, you know, and we talked about it in text, just like where I work at, it might be an ugly environment. It might be not the best smells, but to be able to see past that, to see past what God has created and made the sunset, the sunrise, the trees, uh, the clouds. But then also I go into a mode where, wow, we were able to figure out how to build these things. Like there's a show, uh, how it's made. And somebody said, I want to see the show that how is something made that made that something that was made. You know what I'm saying? It's like, we'll pause here. We'll pause here.

SPEAKER_01

You would have forgotten. Think of what David says when he writes the song, I lift my eyes into the hills, where does my hope come from? Um what hills does he talk about? He's talking about these people worshiping these calves on these fake hills and this false worship that he says, but my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

SPEAKER_07

And one of the things that inspired me with my tattoo, too, is I I started really giving faith a real thought process. Like, really think about it. Like, look at, and we've used it so many times as examples, we've actually got little mustard seeds at the gathering that we show people how small they are. It's like if you have the faith of a mustard seed, the things that you can do, but then my journey through all these things is who has that faith? Who really has the faith of a mustard seed? Like and that's I think the thing that I want to focus on the most in my journey is getting people to get that faith. Getting people to lay down the things that they think they can control or what they have control, or whatever it is. Just like just be faithful. Just have the faith and trust. And that's what I've told a lot of our guests. They come to me and they ask for prayer for this, that, or the other, they're afraid of this, they're afraid of that. I know they're on the journey, I know they're on the road to recovery, I know that God is part of their lives in their recovery. I tell them to be still and just allow God to do what he's going to do. Stop trying to force his hands. Yes, stop trying to put the cart before the Lord. The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him. Absolutely. And I I love when I get the conversation back that it worked out. You were right. It's not that I was right at all. It has nothing to do with me. It's you're putting your faith and your trust in exactly what we're supposed to. To be reliant on the Father, to dwell with the Father, to trust that He is good, and whatever He has for us is good. Oh, they stand see that the Lord is good. I do, I am envious of you and the younger generation that have those stories and do that. You hear those things, and the old camp stuff comes back, and the songs and and I just love when you guys do it, but I'm also envious at the same time that I wish I had those experiences.

SPEAKER_01

Of camp and when we go camping away, we'll try and give you that experience. Yeah, yeah. He's gonna grade them up for us.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, graded hot dogs on the camp.

SPEAKER_01

No.

SPEAKER_04

That's true. Sam Bonnie Moore.

SPEAKER_06

One more chapter before we end. Yeah, let's get in. This is gonna be God's love. Absolutely. Oh, this is gonna be the good one, then.

SPEAKER_04

Uh mine is entitled The Beloved Son. There you go. When Israel was a youth, I loved him. And out of Egypt I called my son. The more they called them, the more they went from them. They kept sacrificing to the veil and burning incense to graven images. It is I who thought Ephraim. Sorry, I'm gonna say that again. Yeah, it is I who taught Ephraim to walk. I took them in my hand. But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love. And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws. Absolutely. We we've made that connection numerous times. Oh yeah. That was just perfect to see. And I bent down and fed them. They will not return to the land of Egypt, but of Syria. He will be their king because they refuse to return to me. And the sword will whirl against their cities, and will consume their gates with bars and devour them because of their councils. So my people are hung out on turning from me. No. They call them to the one on high. Not at all, exactly. How can I give you over? How can I surrender you all Israel? How can I give over give you over to me like I Can I make you like that window? My heart is turned over within me. Oh my God. I will not execute you my burning anger. I will not make it everyone again. The holy one in your middle. And I will not. They will walk after Yahweh. He will roar like a lion. Indeed. He will roar. And his son will come trembling from the west. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt. And like dogs in the land of Israel. And I will settle them in their houses that declare Yahweh. Ephraims around me with lies. And the house of Israel would deceive. And Judah is also a ruling against God. Even against the Holy One who is faithful. Ephraim feeds. We're going to start like that. You crossed over the line. I can't even leave it.

SPEAKER_07

So me and Brian got the laugh there because so many times we've referred back to the the yoke. Jesus says, put on my yoke for it's light. And Brian's analogy is always like when we're carrying the yoke, God's got his little pinky finger just kind of barely holding it for us so that we don't bear the weight of it. And to see this here in Hosea, it it's just God is so awesome. We just love him so much. It's just so amazing to see how the New Testament and the Old Testament are just the word I'm looking for, um are connected. So intricately. Intricately connected, uh how they uh just they they they they shine with each other, and it's just it's sad when people don't see that. It's sad that people don't study the Old Testament enough to see what's going on in the New Testament.

SPEAKER_01

Study it too much and forget. Well, that's that's possible too. Yeah. About the grace. Yeah. But chapter 11, this is like God becoming like thinking like a human. I think that's why Hosea says, But I am God and not every mortal. But like, look at this uh A, it's a prophecy from Matthew. When Israel was a child, I loved him and I called my son out of Egypt after birth of Christ. But it's also that dualistic nature of prophecy, the now and then later. So the now part, he says, but the more I called to him, Ephraim, the further he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the image of Baal, burning incense to idols. Now, this is like when you hold your kid for the first time or whatever, you look at your kid like I looked at my daughter the other day, and she's 13 now, and I'm thinking of like, oh my gosh, and this just brought that up. He says, I taught Israel myself how to walk, leading him along by the hand, but he does not know or even care that it was I who cared for him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, I myself stooped low to feed them. But since my people return refused to return to me, they will return to Egypt and be forced to serve Assyria. War will swirl through their cities, their enemies will crash through their gates, they will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they do not truly honor me. So God is like vacillating in compassion and anger, and then he finally does what only God does. God has the right to execute this plan, but says, No, I'm going to shortchange it.

SPEAKER_02

Right?

SPEAKER_01

He says, Verse 8, Oh, how can I give you up? Oh, is there? How can I let you go? It's that El Tanah, the jealous God. How can I destroy you like Adma or demolish you like Zeboyan? My heart is torn within me, my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my full fierce anger and completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a man. I am the holy one living among you, and I will not come to destroy. For someday, so there's that remnant theology again. Someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion, and I love that. Who is that? That's Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah. And when I roar, my people will return, trembling from the west, like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt, trembling like doves, they will turn from Assyria, and I will bring them home again, says the Lord. Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys only God and is faithful to the Holy One.

SPEAKER_07

It's interesting when it said the uh yes, it is I who taught Ephraim to walk. I I will admit that my first thought process was my mom would say, I taught you how to use a spoon. Something as simplistic as that, but also kind of funny at the same time, is it's the same process, you know. It's like God did teach them. He did He did all those things. And there's so many examples of the hierarchy of those things, you know, the father, the son, uh, the mother. Um I it it's like we have to remember, and I think that's why we talk about you know, take care of the widow and the orphan because of that reason alone, you know, you are here to take care of those people. I was here to take care of you. Now it's for you to take care of those who are still here. And maybe I'm wrong about that, but it's just I don't know, it we we we do sometimes fall away from the earthly parents that were good to us, but we also see that there are bad examples there too.

SPEAKER_01

There are parents that have bad examples, and we as parents have bad examples, but if we're trying our best, I think that's what matters. Yeah, it's yeah, the next generation, it's that poem you read. It's yeah, trying to strive to attain to something better.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That's never that's always in a constant state of improvement because it's it's never realized.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You know, and that's what God is saying here. He's like, I I can't see you be wiped off the earth because I love you too much.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I'm remembering like watching family videos. I'm seeing me watching you ride your bike with your training wheels taken off for the first time. I'm seeing you go on your first date. You know, and you know that's a giant anthropomorphism of God. It's really cool.

SPEAKER_07

I love the imagery you just gave us.

SPEAKER_01

It's like God is watching you. And I always tell people if God had a wallet or a refrigerator, your picture would be on it, or grandpa would be pulling it out and all the pictures fall out. You know, just showing you off. And so that's I guess maybe for the listeners is through all this judgment and condemnation, chapter 11 shows what God is really wrestling with here. Because God has to execute justice, or else he can't be God. But he says, I can't destroy you either, for my love is too great, which he said over and over and over again, what they have just taken for granted, right? And now he's talking about this remnant and Judah, but then again, in the next chapter, the next time we pick up, Judah's not going to farewell either.

SPEAKER_02

No.

SPEAKER_01

Because they get carted off too, 200 years later.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I want people to realize that God, no matter what you've done or where you are, God loves you. Even at your worst, uh, you know, while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Even while we were still friends with Satan, Jesus asked us to be on his team.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, and some of your sermon today talked about that. Yeah, you know, and and with the imagery you gave was fantastic. I just love the idea of God sitting in the attic with an old eight millimeter reel-to-reel with a sheet watching. And like crying and like warm, fuzzy feeling.

SPEAKER_03

Isaiah 6, the train of his robes. Yes. But uh the the uh the pictures in God's wand. Filled the temple.

SPEAKER_01

These are my this is my child whom I love. And that's every one of every person that's ever been created, is created or will be created. Like, but you could choose God or you can, and God's showing that very clearly, but how much it pains him when you don't choose. You're not the one that truly hurts. It's really God hurting.

SPEAKER_07

And I've said it a couple times in our in our podcast. Uh, when dad says this hurts me more than it hurts you. He wasn't lying. He wasn't lying when you become a dad, you understand that, but here, right here, he's saying that.

SPEAKER_01

God is saying that God's like, I want to whoop the smot out of you, but I'm crying. I can't right now, and I can't. Yeah, I can't, because I love you too much.

SPEAKER_07

And that's the thing that people miss out on in the Old Testament. There is grace. There is grace. It's everywhere. But for whatever reason, as people, we focused on the hell and damnation.

SPEAKER_01

Because cynicism is like default. I guess. But I think that uh if Francis Chance's new book came out, it's called Beloved, and he has this quote, and I'm not sure I feel about it, but I love it, and I'm not sure if he's right or not. So take that with that. But he says, Cynicism and the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in the same place at the same time. I'm like, hmm. That's something I've been pondering. Like I see cynicism can sometimes be good because it helps you be like John says, test all the spirits, right? Right. But at the same time, our culture, our world is so cynical. Like, social media thrives because of it. I mean, there for every one positive post you see on social media, there's like 200 negative ones and 63,000 ads you have to get through to see the one positive post. You know, and that's Satan and the world trying to keep us away. But these people are no different. Did they have computers? No. They had town squares where they all sat around. That was their social network. You know, uh, they saw all the stuff, they made up stories, they gossiped, they saw it all, and they always focused on the bad too, because it's just easier to do. It's easier to just, oh man, nothing can get better. It's always gonna be like this.

SPEAKER_03

I definitely it's hard to get out of once you get in, too. It is. I think uh I've been toying with a similar idea in the opposite direction. And I guess for your questioning on if that is a good phrase or not in how Francis Chan phrases that I would think that that would depend on what the actual definition of cynicism is. Because it could be something else that fits in. Because I would agree with you too, in that sometimes it can there's a utility in thinking similarly.

SPEAKER_01

Like maybe I should pay attention because red flags are going off, and this is not a carnival.

SPEAKER_03

Right. Why do I feel attacked by that comment? You inspire the whole circus menagerie of metaphors that I now possess in my brain. Oppositely, I've been thinking, uh I think, and broadly, the poem you read about America touched on it. That's an ideal idealism, and I think Christians are idyllic in nature in their they have these idealist points of view, and we're to carry on hope, which I think hope in its kind of nature is idealism. You don't want to fall into cynicism. And the the position I've been put in as a young man and a young uh you know guy trying to follow Jesus is something I've heard for my whole life, and I'll hear until whenever the transition period is when you're considered older or whatever, is uh, you know, oh well, you know, you're inexperienced and you're a kind of idealist. You know, young people are an idealist. You don't know what you're really talking about. And I'm not here saying I do, and I don't have the experience, so on and so forth. But I think uh on the opposite end, what I s what I see is a lot of the folks that say those things are older and and jaded. And there's a there's a there's a totem pole in there somewhere that I think the Christian walk is supposed to tow the line on between seeing not a cynicism point of view, but uh a realist one, while also being idealist and hopeful for things to come. Like, and I think that's exactly what your America poem kind of hit it on.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's what put uh God is saying through Hosea, like it's not going to end badly if you turn back to me. But unless you do, it will.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Like the dream will never be realized until you come back. And I think that you know, is a beautiful thing. But also I can tell you, brother, or my brother in Christ, I've sat through what now I'm almost in 22 years of full-time ministry. A lot of meetings, you say, let's try this. People say, Nope, can't do it. You know, it just won't work. And it's like, but have you factored in God? No, but we don't have enough money. Wait a minute, what? But you know, and you're like, Whoa, and so I'm reminded of the scene from the movie Pearl Harbor where John Void is FDR, and the guy's at the table, they're telling him I think Dan Aykroyd played the only serious role in his life. And he's in there, like the president's advisor. He's like, they're attacking, you know, and he says it's impossible to stop, and he makes himself stand up because you know he's paralyzed, and he slams his hand on the fit the table. And this has been verified in some other historical sources. He says, Do not tell me that things are impossible. You know, that's kind of been my adoption here because with God, what? All things are possible. I didn't make that up. Like, and if you tell me no, like, and we don't have enough money, I say, okay, but God does. How many times have we said, get out of God's way? Yeah, agree.

SPEAKER_07

You didn't rise from the dead yet? Yeah, get out of the way. Yeah. Just have the faith that God will do what he says he's gonna do. Agreed. And and we just sit and just see it nonstop all the time, and it's beautiful. It's amazing. And I it just I just want everybody to see that. I want everybody. Everybody see it.

SPEAKER_04

Well no, and and and the way that plays out in in in uh in visuals is uh at the gathering, we we'll see it a lot with uh uh things are gonna be tight, we don't have where's the money gonna come from, and then a donation drops. Or uh and then again, we're out of supplies, we don't have these things necessary, and then a donation drops. Like today, the donations drop.

SPEAKER_06

Oh yeah, the water that was outrageous. Yeah, yeah. It was so fantastic, though. Yeah. That was a plethora. That was as tall as I was when I walked in there, and I was like, whoa, where'd all that come from?

SPEAKER_01

God takes care of his people. He does. Like we say a couple weeks ago, the mountains surround Jerusalem, so God surrounds his people. You know, and to throw back a rage against a machine, which is actually borrowed from one of the prophets, but they rephrased it, Jesus blessed me with a future and he'll protect it with fire. You are sealed, hemmed in by the God of the universe who keeps watching day and night, leading you along the way. He dwells within you. You have nothing, not even death to fear.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_01

That's why you see so much, you know, like we're talking about the cultures of the world, the everybody's got like a utopious streak in them. We want to create the perfect society, everybody's happy, healthy, lives forever, there's no sickness or death. You cannot create that. God already did. We broke it. We can't unbreak the thing we broke to make it unbroken. Right. Only God fixes that, and that will happen when Jesus returns, right? But like we need not give in to cynicism or think God doesn't love us, because here we see God going through the family photo albums and just beaming and just emotional over his children. And if you're listening and you think God doesn't like you, then I need to tell you you're wrong, and don't believe that. Because God is crazy about you, and even though he knows he has to execute judgment, he limits the amount because he cares so much. And every day you wake up is another opportunity to turn back. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, every breath you have is literally a gift of God. Yeah. Or even think about like the Christmas Carol, I forget which one, is it what child is this? Or they're singing about Jesus. They stole from the song Green Sleeves and changed it, but like, whatever. Both songs are fire, either way.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But they're talking about this is a Christ the King whose every breath the angels bring. And it's like that. Christ is doing that to you. Every breath is brought to you by God and sponsored by Ray Shadow Legends. As his podcast. No, I'm just kidding. Um, but every God literally hands you everything. And if you don't wake up, it's because your mission is accomplished or something. You know? Yeah. Like God is not done with you till He has called you home. Yeah. Until that last breath. And like Jesus says to Peter about John, what's it do you if I let this guy live till I come back? That's true. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do. And here God says, I am God, not a mere man. Right. And I have these big emotions for you. How cool is that?

SPEAKER_07

I'm glad you said that. Because we are allowed to have emotions. We are. We're allowed to be in them and we're allowed to deal with them.

SPEAKER_01

And you're allowed to throw temperature now there.

SPEAKER_04

When did we decide this?

SPEAKER_01

You can finally lay down and kick and screen for a while.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah. It's like I said earlier, you know, give people the space to deal with them. Men included, if you need to go cry, go cry.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

You know, that's fine.

SPEAKER_01

You would not believe how many men are like, I've never cried in my life. Even still this day. And it's like, really? I don't cry as a drop of a hat, my brother's in crystal. All the time.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, I mean, there are times like watching like a Hallmark movie, anyway. Well, thinking about God watching my home movie would almost make me cry. Yeah, like he's like, There's Tom.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Or in your case, there's Tommy Boy. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05

Tommy won't wingy. Tommy won't lingy. No. He wasn't even part of that conversation, and we had that conversation earlier.

SPEAKER_01

The Holy Spirit unites us.

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, he always does. He's an amazing thing. Jacob, praise out. Alright.

SPEAKER_03

Lord Heavenly Father, thank you so much for all that you give us. You give us so much. Thank you for your love and your compassion. Thank you for relenting. Thank you for your rod and your desolation. And thank you for most of all your son. Let us remember each and every day. And in his name we pray.