552. The LORD'S Case against Israel ⏤ Hosea 4:1-19

552.

The Charge Against Israel

1.

Today's Passage: Hosea 4:1-19

Get to know your bible. It will become a good friend.

Or find the passage NASB version on Bible Gateway here.
You can search for other versions there as well. Versions even in foreign languages.

Or, for your convenience I have typed the verses below from the
New Living Testament (NLT).

---

2.

Thank You for meeting me, LORD.
I welcome you into this place.
Please prepare my heart Jehovah.
Thank you for insight.

---

3.

4th strategy.
Is this a who, what, when, where, or how passage? 

• Begin by inviting God into your reading. Ask Him to join you and show you the plot of this passage.
• Read the passage
• Ask yourself as you read the passage which is most important in the passage.
  • Is 'who' the passage about most important?
  • Is 'what' the passage is about most important?
  • Is' when' or 'where' the passage takes place most important?
  • Or is how the passage presented, worked out in time, or motivates the reader most important...?
• After you decide which is the most important vehicle of the passage, re-read it.
• Contemplate if this passage could bring you to a fuller understanding of God and His purposes.
• Thank God for being with you in this endeavor.
  

---

1. Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying: "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
2. You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere ⏤ one murder after another.
3. That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

4. "Don't  point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.
5. So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother,
6. My people are being destroyed because they don't know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of you God, I will forget to bless your children.
7. The more priests there are, the more they sin against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.

8. "When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. Sothe priests are glad when the people sin!
9. 'And what the priests do, the people also do.' So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds.
10. They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it, for they have deserted the LORD to worship other gods.

"Wine has robbed my people of their understanding.
12. They ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.
13. They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops. They go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees. "That is why your daughters turn to prostitution, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

14. But why should I punish them for the prostitution and adultery? For your men are doing the same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. O foolish people! You refuse to understand so you will be destroyed.

15. "Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah avoid such guilt. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, even though they take oaths there  in the LORD'S name.
16. Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the LORD feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture?
17. Leave Israel alone, because she is married to idolatry.
18. When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor.
19. So a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.
Hosea 4:1-19 NLT

---

4.

Thank you for coming today.
Please leave your initials and a comment.
Don't forget to check the box underneath your comment,
so replies will be directed to you.

And remember,
I pray for you every day.
And I will be back here tomorrow,
I hope I will see you here too.
~Robyn

Robyn & Biff Cox
RR&BC, LLC ©2016

---