“The Consequences of Contempt”
Hosea 7:3-16 July 9, 2006 Play AUDIO (mp3) Play VIDEO (wmv)
Outraged by Contempt
○ National War Monument desecration draws reaction
○ party hearty attitude of younger generations
competes with obligations
Spurning their Saviour
○ God about to repay Israel for their contempt /
rejection / rebellion (Hos 12:14; 4:6,16; 5:5; 7:13-16)
○ contempt like Assyrian blasphemy/insult, or
Goliath’s defying of army (2Kings 19:4,15; 1Sam.17:10,25f,36; cf
2Sam21:21)
○ family relationships damaged by pride or disdain
Leaders Most to Blame
○ leaders set negative example at home, religious
sites (4:14,8)
○ king & princes debauched by drunkenness, lust,
intrigue (5:10; 9:15; 7:4-7)
○ Enron founder’s fraudulence affected thousands of
employees, investors
A Sure Path to Ruin
○ destruction & ruin brought on by pride (Prov
16:18; Hos 4:6,4,19)
○ Israel vanishing like smoke or mist, incurable
sores, moth-eaten (5:12,19; 9:16; 13:3)
○ Lord tearing to pieces like lion, leopard, bear
robbed of cubs (Hos 5:14; 13:7ff)
○ inhumane killing of young ones forecast, at hands
of brutal Assyrians (9:13; 13:16)
Repairing the Faulty Bow
○ irreparable write-off as crooked bow due to
ignorance and stubbornness (7:16; 4:6,14,16f)
○ training 4H heifer to lead required overcoming
resistance to the halter
○ though want to thresh, Lord may be asking us to
break up unplowed ground (Hos 10:11f; Mt 11:29f)
○ examples of ordinary people stepping into the gap,
breaking new ground