The Pain of Broken Covenants
Major Themes From the Minor Prophets • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsKeeping covenant with God is supremely important
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Keeping covenant with God is supremely important
Keeping covenant with God is supremely important
INTRO: Do not be a fool..........
Through the prophets Hosea, Micah, Jonah and Nahum we see the importance of a covenant relationship with God. We will examine His call to a covenant relationship and His judgement upon those who violate it.
Hosea’s message contrasts Israel’s unfaithfulness with God’s un failing love
Micah warning of coming judgement upon Judah, calling the southern tribes to a revival of holiness and promising a future renewal.
Jonah and Nahum prophesied to Nineveh, Jonah revealing God’s mercy in repentance and Nahum’s warning to Nineveh’s return to violence and wicked behavior
The covenants God made with Israel and with believers in Jesus were instituted by God’s grace, love and mercy. A covenant typically promises blessings for faithfulness and warnings of judgement for failing to remain faithful.
GOD REQUIRES FAITHFULNESS
GOD REQUIRES FAITHFULNESS
A covenant is an agreement, entered into willingly, by which two unrelated people make a commitment to be loyal to each other.
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
The “word of the Lord” which means a prophetic revelation, came to Hosea. God gave unique instructions to Hosea, revealing Hosea’s marriage would serve as a prophetic symbol of the covenant relationship between God and Israel.
Therefore, Hosea was commanded to marry “a wife of harlotry” because Israel had “committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord.
Gomer was not a prostitute when Hosea married her. The Lord did not say, “Marry a prostitute” rather, He said”Take for yourself a wife inclined to infidelity” or a woman characterized by harlotry.
In other words, Hosea was told to marry a woman who had the inclination to be unfaithful.
God knew Gomer’s wife disposition would eventually lead her into maritial infidelity, but she had not at this time acted on those carnal impulses.
Then the Lord said to him: “Call his name Jezreel, For in a little while I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. It shall come to pass in that day That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Call his name Jezreel: Jezreel means “Scattered,” and Israel would soon be scattered in exile by a conquering Assyrian army.
Second, Jezreel refers to the Valley of Jezreel, where Jehu – the founder of the dynasty that put Jeroboam II on the throne – massacred all the descendants of Ahab, thus establishing his throne (2 Kings 10:11). God directed Hosea to name his son Jezreel to confirm His promise to avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel by judging the house of Jehu.
And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him: “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, But I will utterly take them away.
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the Lord their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen.” Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
Call her name Lo-Ruhamah: The name Lo-Ruhamah means “No Mercy.” Every call to this child with the unfortunate name would remind Hosea and everyone else of coming judgment and exile.
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah: The army of Assyria that destroyed Israel also attacked Judah, but they did not conquer them. Instead, God miraculously fought on behalf of Judah against Assyria when the angel of the LORD killed 185,000 soldiers in the camp of Assyria in one night (2 Kings 19:35).
Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God.
The name Lo-Ammi means “Not My People.
Since Gomer did not give up her prostitution, perhaps this son really was not the son of Hosea, but of another man.
Redemption and Mercy “Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’
Covenant Restored
Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.” So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.” For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.
God tells Hosea to show his love to Gomer and bring her back into family relationship.
So Hosea again follows God’s command and secures Gomer, this time from another man in an adulterous relationship. Despite her sin, Hosea is to demonstrate his abiding love for her and take her back as his wife. In so doing Hosea will symbolize the Lord’s unending love and concern for Israel despite its flirtations with Baal and other pagan deities and despite his need to punish his people.
Hosea was forced to pay her lover for Gomer’s release. He did so both in silver and grain, the total amount was quite inexpensive thirty shekels constituted the worth of a slave.
By way of contrast, God’s ultimate restoration of Israel was later to come at the cost of the sacrifice of his Son the Messiah, Christ Jesus, even though he was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-15; 27:3-10).
GOD’S CASE AGAINST HIS PEOPLE
No Testimony Against God
Hear now what the Lord says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord’s complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the Lord has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel. “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the Lord.”
God challenged the people by saying “testify against me”.
No one could legitimately argue that they had any excuse for their lack of spiritual commitment to God.
They had nothing they could legitimately charge God with, but His judgement against Israel would be justified.
Speaking of Jesus, He was doing good. No one had any justification to bring a charge against Him.
Proper Response to God’s Charges
With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? The Lord’s voice cries to the city— Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the rod! Who has appointed it? Are there yet the treasures of wickedness In the house of the wicked, And the short measure that is an abomination? Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights? For her rich men are full of violence, Her inhabitants have spoken lies, And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. “Therefore I will also make you sick by striking you, By making you desolate because of your sins. You shall eat, but not be satisfied; Hunger shall be in your midst. You may carry some away, but shall not save them; And what you do rescue I will give over to the sword. “You shall sow, but not reap; You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine, but not drink wine. For the statutes of Omri are kept; All the works of Ahab’s house are done; And you walk in their counsels, That I may make you a desolation, And your inhabitants a hissing. Therefore you shall bear the reproach of My people.”
Summary
The prophet condemns the rulers, priests, and prophets of Israel who exploit and mislead the people. It is because of their deeds that Jerusalem will be destroyed.
The prophet Micah proclaims the deliverance of the people who will go from Jerusalem to Babylon and concludes with an exhortation for Jerusalem to destroy the nations who have gathered against her.
Foreshadowings: Micah 5:2 is a Messianic prophecy quoted when the magi were searching for the king born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6). These wise men from the East were told that from the tiny village of Bethlehem would come forth the Prince of Peace, the Light of the world. Micah’s message of sin, repentance, and restoration finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ who is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:24-25) and the only way to God (John 14:6).
Practical Application: God gives warnings so we will not have to suffer His wrath. Judgment is certain if God’s warnings are not heeded and His provision for sin in the sacrifice of His Son is rejected. For the believer in Christ, God will discipline us—not from hate—but because He loves us. He knows that sin destroys and He wants us to be whole. This wholeness which is the promise of restoration awaits those who remain obedient to Him.
GOD RELENTS - GOD JUDGES
GOD RELENTS - GOD JUDGES
God Responds to Repentance
Jonah 3:1–3 “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.”
Both Jonah and Nahum were given a word for the people of Nineveh
Jonah was not inclined to go because he wanted Nineveh to be judged and destroyed by God.
Jonah message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.
The people believed the prophet
The people proclaimed a fast, put on sackcloth from the greatest to the lease
Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
God Responds to Wickedness
Nahum 3:1–4 “Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots! Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpses— They stumble over the corpses— Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries.”
They went back to their wickedness.
Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
