Hosea 9-10, Are You Declining?

Hosea chapter 9 and 10 hear the word of the Lord Rejoice not Oh Israel exalt not like the people's for you have played the whore forsaking your

God You have loved a prostitute's wages on all the threshing floors threshing floor and wine bat shall not feed them and the new wine

Shall fail them They shall not remain in the land of the Lord But Ephraim shall return to Egypt and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria They shall not pour drink offerings of the wine to the

Lord and their sacrifices shall not please him It shall be like mourners bread to them all who eat of it shall be defiled

For their bread shall be for their hunger only it shall not come to the house of the Lord What would you do on the day of the appointed festival and on the day of the feast of the

Lord for behold? They are going away from destruction But Egypt shall gather them Memphis shall bury them nettles shall possess their precious things of silver

Thorns shall be in their tents the days of punishment have come the days of recompense have come

Israel shall know it the prophet is a fool the man of the Spirit is mad Because of your great iniquity and great hatred the prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my

God yet foulers Snare is on all his ways and hatred in the house of his

God They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity

He will punish their sins like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season

I saw your fathers But they came to ball pure and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame and became detestable like the thing they loved

Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird. No birth. No pregnancy. No conception

Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left Woe to them when

I depart from them Ephraim as I have seen was like a young palm planted in a meadow

But Ephraim must not lead his children out to slaughter give them. Oh Lord What will you give them?

Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breast Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal there.

I began to hate them because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house.

I will love them. No more. All their princes are rebels Ephraim is stricken their root is dried up.

They shall bear no fruit, even though they give birth I will put their beloved children to death. My God will reject them because they have not listened to him

They shall be wonderers through the nations Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields his fruit the more its fruit increased the more altars he built as his country improved

He improved his pillars their heart is false Now they must bear their guilt the

Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars for now They will say we have no king for we do not fear the

Lord and a king What could he do for us they utter mere words with empty oaths

They make covenants So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field the inhabitants of Samaria Tremble for the calf of Beth Avan its people mourn for it and so do its idolatrous priest

Those who rejoiced over it and over its glory for it has departed from them The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king

Ephraim shall be put to shame and Israel shall be ashamed of his idols Samaria's King shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters the high places of Avan the sin of Israel shall be destroyed

Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars and they shall say to the mountains cover us and to the hills following us

From the days of Gibeah you have sinned Oh Israel there They have continued shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah When I please

I will discipline them and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity

Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh and I spared her fair neck

But I would put Ephraim to the yoke Judah must plow Jacob must harrow for himself.

So for yourselves righteousness and reap steadfast love Break up your fallow ground

For it is the time to seek the Lord That he may come and reign righteousness upon you.

You have plowed iniquity you have reaped injustice you have eaten the fruit of lies because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people and all your fortresses shall be destroyed as Shaman destroyed

Beth Arbel on the day of battle mothers were dashed to pieces with their children Thus it shall be done to you

Oh Bethel because of your great evil at dawn the king of Israel Shall be utterly cut off May the

Lord at his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well the times they are a -changing

But are they getting better or worse? You know, there's the assumption in our cultures things always improve

That anything today is better than anything yesterday like CS Lewis called Chronological snobbery.

Otherwise, we just think we're we always assume we're better that there's this assumption of evolution But but is it true are things really getting better or worse?

Well, that depends on how you how you judge them by what standard are things getting better or worse declining or improving?

regressing or progressing There are some objective standards we can use like Lifespan after consistently going up ever since we can measure it basically for a little over a century

Average lifespan but began about a century ago was about 51 to 55 years old dip to 39

In 1918 during the Spanish flu influenza after going up consistently since then and reach an average of almost 79 years seventy eight point nine years in 2014 it has slowly declined since then over the last six years to now at 78 .6

years We can also objectively measure wealth The Federal Reserve does a survey every three years of the nation's wealth and found in the last survey in 2017 that the median net worth for American families has dropped 8 % from 1998 over almost 20 years

Meanwhile median debt rose by 25 % so Americans own less and owe more and what wealth we do have is

Increasingly unequally distributed since 1973 that's been the case over different Presidents since 1973 the rich have been getting richer and the poor poor.

Of course, those are all signs of decline What about things that are less easily measured?

What when my professor at a University of Chicago class I took had us read his pre -published book in which he argued that there would be a quote

He would call a fourth Great Awakening Spearheaded again by Christians, which was an interesting point of view since he himself was not a

Christian He was he called himself a secular Jew But he said Christians would spearhead a fourth Great Awakening to bring more progress

And I wrote a paper in response to him arguing that he was wrong Now, of course, you're always in thin ice if you'd be argued that your professor is wrong

But I argued that evangelical Christians had declined since the Great Awakening and the Puritan days and he invited me to his office

To talk about it and he plied me with various questions But I didn't I didn't change his mind any because he published the book pretty much unchanged and the next year

He hired me to be his teaching assistant 20 years later though. I Stand by my conclusion

That we're declining How do we know though that we're spiritually declining?

What do you what do we measure it with? One of the main academic issues about Puritanism is how did it decline?

Now some even questioned whether it actually ever did decline, but I think that Puritan declension.

It's what they call it declension I think it's a fact Demonstrated by the fact that Puritans are not now reigning over a pious

New England Okay If you haven't noticed that New England is not exactly a Bible Belt now with all kinds of Puritans lived and in control there the

Puritans Themselves overwhelmingly testified that there was a spiritual decline in their own day

Eleazar Mather noted that quote there is a sad declining in the spirit of the churches and called his own time in 1676 a

Backsliding time a synod or meeting of the New England churches met in Boston in 1679

Stated that was beyond doubt that the churches had declined and that the problems that had in fact afflicted them lately especially

King Philip's War were God's judgment for their decline the title to a 1683 sermon speaks volumes a plea for the life of a dying religion

Increase Mather prefaced the published version of that sermon with quote that our founding interest in religion

Has been for many years languishing and dying is the observation of all men that have their hearts exercised in discerning things of this nature cotton

Mather increased Mather's son wrote quote I saw a fearful degeneracy a

Minister's dying plea was to quote look after the dying power of godliness in the churches

The he said the old spirit was dying out with the old saints quote certainly the power of godliness is now grievously decayed among us a

Puritan a Michael Wigglesworth published a popular poem at this time in 1662 Entitled God's controversy with New England which in part read

Quote if these be they how is it that I find instead of holiness carnality?

Instead of heavenly frames and earthly mind for burning zeal lukewarm indifference

II for flaming love Key cold dead heartedness for temperance and meat and drink and clothes excess

Puritan William Bradford in 1694 wrote quote love and fervent zeal do seem to sleep security in the world on men do creep

So they believed there was a decline but that's all their conclusions

How do you measure it? What is? spiritual decline

Well, we see that here in this passage in Hosea chapter 9 and 10 in four parts first a decline in religion

Second a decline in the heart third a decline of leaders and finally a decline of fruit

First there's a decline of religion starting in chapter 9 But declining religion does not mean that they were not religious like there's as though there's fewer people attending their religious

Festivals and assemblies they were very religious. They had altars and shrines. It says on every threshing floor

That is that's threshing floors is where they brought their grain to get the kernel to grind it to flour Probably every large field had one certainly at least maybe every town that way they could give thanks to God they fresh

The grain they get they get it into the flour and they could then right then and there because there's a

Some kind of shrine or altar they get right then and there give thanks to God Or maybe bail or maybe both

For the bountiful harvest. It's not really clear which from the passage who they're giving

Thanks to and they they probably didn't really care which themselves here. He says your religion is so declined

Don't hold any more festivals. No more celebrations Don't rejoice in Verse one don't exult.

Don't even don't be happy in your worship because this is the reason for their decline You have played the whore

Hosea knew all about that, didn't he? He was an expert on that like a prostitute going out looking for a customer

So is declined religion going out looking for for more numbers more popularity

Get more money more people in the seats willing to do anything to get To give the customer what he wants to get him to come and to be part they have in verse 1

Forsaken your God like earlier Gomer had forsaken Hosea preferring other lovers

But don't think that that means they didn't that Israel didn't worship the Lord anymore They say God here says you've forsaken me, but they would probably say what do you mean?

We have alters in every threshing floor. How we forsaken you we see in verse 4 that they do in fact are worshiping

Sort of the Lord in verse 5 their feast are says of the

Lord They pour out drink offerings. They give other offerings to the Lord. So You know, they would think they would ask back.

How are we forsaken you Lord? Talk about we got alters everywhere well, they forsaken him like an adulterous person thinking that he or she could keep the marriage relationship and Have other lovers at the same time they could add they thought we can add a little bail worship on the side

Can't we I mean, what's the harm? Maybe maybe make a calf image to worship the

Lord with why not? It works for bail and work for us I mean, maybe just mix it all together

Throw in anything that seems Enjoyable, it seems to be religious.

They just assumed that as long as the Lord got his as long as he got his worship Well, he wouldn't mind

We we throw a little extra to some other some other gods like some people today think the

Lord won't mind We use part of our life And it's part of our life to serve money.

You won't mind Willie. I mean, I'm still I'm still giving him 51 % Our he maybe he won't mind if we turn a worship service or two or three or four a year to exalt maybe the nation or the flag or mothers or our favorite politician

But he does mind he minds so much. He is so angry that he scorns their worship as prostitution and he vows

That these threshing floors these altars they had there and the wine vats that they've been using their religion to fill them

Thinking they'll get prosperity if they they put that mix their religion with their harvest That they will not feed them anymore.

They won't be fruitful anymore. They'll even be driven out of the land They'll be they'll have to flee back to Egypt. It will be the

Exodus in reverse in verse 3. They are going to destruction They're going back to Egypt where they will be a they'll be absorbed.

They're gonna be buried there They're not just going back there for to escape a little bit and then be able to come back No, they're gonna die there in that nation and their altars and their images back in Israel will be overgrown

God is sending instead of feast days to celebrate the Lord. He calls him in verse 7 days of punishment

Days of Recompense, I was days that I'm gonna pay you back

Israel for that corrupt religion They scoffed at prophets like Amos told him to go back home to Judah or Hosea here scoffed at him.

It's foolish They're they're madmen and talking about judgment and destruction. What are you talking about?

Hosea The happy days are here again they've been rolling prosperity has been going on whole generation now under Jeroboam the second

God is going to and Hosea says back to them Hosea the God is going to pay them back for the way they've rejected his word and his prophets

Israel here in seven is about probably about the year 750 BC and this is given and he's saying you're like Israel You were like you were about 400 years earlier during the days of Gibeah during the judges.

There's been no progress You've regressed to that when that town of town of Gibeah was so immoral when the men there

When they couldn't rape a man who happened to be traveling through they raped to death a woman who was put out there for them

Gibeah Was Israel's own Sodom and Gomorrah except Israel was supposed to be better.

They had they had more light They were supposed to have a pure religion But Gibeah was wiped out for that early destroyed and now

God says that they're going back to that That they've regressed He will remember their iniquity.

He will punish their sin. Are you declining? Well, you're here

So you have the religion but be careful that it's not the corrupt Self -serving religion, you know all about keeping the money pouring in keeping the kids out of trouble

Keeping the good life going and the good times rolling It's it's it's using

God like he's an insurance Company that if you pay the premiums, he'll he'll make sure to maintain your lifestyle

Are you declining? Are you seeking to purify your worship?

Well next there's a decline in the heart What they what they used to think was glorious what weighed on them in their heart is

It's something of value of importance Literally was heavy meaningful now they think

That's that's light. That's cheap It doesn't fill their hearts anymore There's been a change before and after but unlike in those, you know, there's weight loss pictures

They always show progress right progress the weight loss pictures before they were a little obese and now they're fit and trim

This change she talked about here has been for the worse in verse 10 before Israel was a treasure a wonderful find quote like succulent grapes in the wilderness like Stumbling imagine you're out in a arid desert and there you come upon this juicy plump

Grapes you think Wow, what a treasure what a find he said

Israel was like that in the beginning But they've not progressed They've regressed before the

Lord had a zest and an enjoyment of his people like the first fruit of a fig tree

I don't know if it's about fig trees. Apparently people that like them like them like the first fruit It's good fruit.

You see it's sprouting in season Ah something to enjoy God says before before the decline he saw

Israel like that he saw their fathers like that, but then they worship all pure calls it a thing of shame and They became like what they worshipped

God calls it verse 10 by all pure a thing of shame you become like What you worship if you worship a glorious Lord you become glorious weighty substantial fateful loving true if you worship something shameful something empty meaningless and an idol money pleasure your ego

Politics, whatever it is you become shameful empty nothing

Here Ephraim's that's the Northern Kingdom's glory in verse 11 What they what they regard as heavy what fills their heart is important What now feels weighty important to them maybe today like something?

Who wins the Super Bowl? How much money we can make? maybe for churches how many attendees we can have at our services all the things that we regard as As heavy as glorious will he says fly away like a bird

It'll be in verse 11. It'll be so light The wind will carry it away.

It's not heavy. It's not glorious It's empty The result is that they will have no growth.

No No children, they'll lose their children No birth.

No pregnancy. No conception and even if they do have children in verse 12

They'll be taken away the hardest Worst thing that you can do to someone is to take or kill their children

This past week was the 8th anniversary of the passing of Cheyenne stump I think she was 11 or 12 when she died

She used to faithfully attend our Jim jr. Program oddly enough. She wouldn't want to play with the other children

She was different in that way She always wanted to come and help Mary or the others preparing the food and the drinks

I have a picture of our there's usually a table over there or set up Standing over there the kids come through the door

They all go scrambling of course for the balls like they usually do Cheyenne is a usual coming straight for the table to help with the refreshments and I took her picture and she when

I raised the Camera, she raised her fist like that because you know, he's gonna tease her again, you know Go play go play with the other kids and she wouldn't she would rather help

Well in the summer of 2012 She had a brain hemorrhage and I believe was

I believe she was life flighted to Duke Hospital Where they had did an emergency brain surgery on her I remember being told that she was in the

ICU there and resolved that as soon as she was out That I would go that would go see her in the hospital

I Never got to make that trip her family put up a monument in their yard

For her that I passed by nearly every day And this this past Tuesday passed it on the way here this morning by the way but this past Tuesday for the first time

I stopped in my car and got out and Walked into the field there and looked at it up close for the for the first time just to remember

Cheyenne Now I'm not saying that there was some kind of judgment like here I don't know that but the death of a child is the most horrendous thing now imagine that on a large

Scale so God says in verse 12 woe to them When I depart from them when he departs there will be this massive

Massacre including of the children. There'll be deaths of children right and left

They were before he says like a young palm tree full and green and Promising and a meadow but they've declined they are now after their decline

Leading their children to slaughter the course they are now on will result in the mass murder of their children and That's what happened

So I was a of the Prophet passing on God's Word here you know, he hears this from the

Lord and he stops in Verse 14 and he prays for them.

He's thinking because he's hearing from the Lord That that their children are gonna be massacred and he hears this he thinks the children

The horror of it and so he prays Give them

Oh Lord This is Hosea interceding I believe for Israel after hearing this sentence of death on the children give them

Oh Lord, and he can't think what to give them. The sentence has been passed So so what can be given to them to spare them this this horror?

Give them He thinks What will you give them? The best thing that he can think to give them to spare them the devastation of murdered children is to give them a

Miscarrying womb and dry breast if they're going to see their children slaughtered then

Oh Lord Don't give them children at all How did things get so bad how do you decline so far

That the the best prayer the Prophet can think for these people to spare his people this

The best thing that he could think to pray for them is give them miscarriages Imagine how how low they have declined when that is the best blessing that can be imagined for them

But what happened? Their hearts declined in chapter chapter 10 verse 2 their heart is is false or the word could be translated as is

Divided it it's trying to serve two masters the Lord and Baal or mammon or materialism or ego or pleasure or whatever and that's because deep down The heart is no longer filled with the glory of the

Lord with that heaviness of God's importance that it makes no room for any rivals

That was what they should have been before now They have plenty of room for all kinds of other gods in chapter 9 verse 15 every evil of theirs

He says is in is in Gilgal That's where they first crossed into the promised land across the Jordan River into the promised land

And they set up a monument there to mark the spot that now finally we're in The new nation has begun but the the

God here says your decline started at the very beginning There was something wrong with their hearts they were divided and so the

Lord began to hate them there They hated notice before remember they hated the prophets They hated the Lord's Word and so God says

I'm hating you back And so as in chapter 1 they will get no mercy before in chapter 10 verse 1

They were a he calls him a luxuriant vine Lush and fruitful now after after the decline in chapter 9 verse 16, they are stricken

They're dried up that there's shriveled with no fruit So if they do give birth

God promises, I will put their beloved children to death Hosea himself in comments in verse 17 reminding them of one of his own children's names

Remember what his own children one of them named? Not my people that God will reject them because they have not listened to him

So they won't be as people anymore before they were God's people in God's land Luxuriant fruitful now after the decline they will be bereaved and wonders through other nations

If our hearts are false for double -minded Claiming to believe and to love the

Lord But then thinking and so living just like the world just as materialistic as individualistic is rebellious

Then we will decline We will bear our guilt and the Lord promises in verse 2 because he is jealous

Like any spouse being cheated on is jealous He promises to destroy whatever it is in our lives that is competing with him for our love

He will break down our our pillars our altars destroy them He will take our money that we tried to serve along with him

He'll estrange us from our children because we focused on the family and first instead of on him

He'll poison our relationships because we thought that they were more glorious more weighty than he was the decline

Starts in the heart and what we weigh is the heaviest thing that sits on us

Third There's a decline of leaders starting in verse 3 After the long peaceful thriving reign of Jeroboam the second about 40 years

Israel went through about a half -dozen Kings in 20 years Most of them assassinated and replaced by the assassin only himself to soon be assassinated

Kings were cheap They thought now they will say in verse 3 we have no King. Oh They technically always had a king.

They didn't go through any period of like being a Republic No Republic of Israel for at any time, but they could easily ignore him, right?

I mean if he gave The turnover of Kings was such, you know, what gives an order today you can just ignore it because tomorrow he'll probably be gone so they could say we have no

King and they said they had no King because We do not fear the

Lord. I Doubt they really said that out loud, but that's deep down what they thought we do not fear the

Lord. I was We we don't think he's gonna judge us for anything. We don't think he's gonna punish us for our sins

We think we can get away with living any way we want forever. There's never gonna be price to pay We do not fear the

Lord They think they didn't think the Lord would punish them for their anarchy and their lawlessness because they didn't believe he punishes for anything

Maybe they thought they paid him off. It paid him so well and all these shrines and altars they had all over every place

They thought they would he would never Never judge them The Lord Jesus said that he will be sending away many religious people to hell people so sure of their religion and and their

Righteousness that they will be boasting right in front of him of all the things they've done for him, but he'll respond depart from me you workers of lawlessness

You people who think you have no King Who don't fear the Lord's judgment

Maybe you have a doctrine of so -called grace that excuses you from you So that you think you can live any way you want say anything you want, you know antinomianism

Many religious people that they live lawlessly Thinking that the grace is an excuse to do or to say whatever they want and whose favorite verse of course is judge

Not they don't fear the Lord and they choose pastors who will tell them That they don't have to fear the

Lord they tell them whatever they want to hear The lawless want leaders who are declined who enable their own decline who tell them not to fear the

Lord Tell them there's no judgment for however, you live whatever you say doesn't matter You can slander people right and left

God doesn't care because they prayed a prayer Sometime back when they were children, they said the right words

They recited it correctly or they got baptized and they and they were told then then grace will ensure that they are saved

They're safe from anything to have to fear from the Lord. There's nothing to have to fear from the Lord They're told no matter how they live decline leaders preach a decline gospel that encourages more decline

Here they were lawless their lawlessness is seen in there the leaders particularly the leaders were lawless and their lack of Integrity they think they make promises and not keep them and there's no price to be paid

They think they can say whatever is useful And then words become just a tool to get whatever you want

You don't have to worry about any repercussions for saying something that is not true It's not you won't fulfill and verse 4 they utter mere words

With empty oaths they make covenants Their commitments are worthless

That they don't keep their word It doesn't matter if they say in the presence of God angels and this assembly

We most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another they are going to keep it if they don't feel like it

Remember, they like faithfulness steadfast love and knowledge of God.

I Think Americans have markedly declined in their integrity over just the past couple generations and the value they put on being faithful People of their word we used to say in this culture things like you're only as good as your word

Your word is your bond We don't hear those sayings much anymore. You notice that I don't think we hear them much anymore

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor almost 80 years ago be 80 years ago next year One of the things that incensed many

Americans I think this is strange because this I don't think this is the case anymore at that time One of the things that incensed many

Americans is that the Japanese were going through the motions of negotiating for peace at the time

Franklin Roosevelt even mentioned it at his speech the next day that they had been planning the attack

They had even launched their fleet while pretending they wanted peace if if you ever hear that speech again, listen for that Because that we don't hear that anymore think how odd that is

I mean you've just gotten bombed through almost 3 ,000 of your sailors and soldiers have been killed and you're complaining that They didn't keep their word

Is that that strike us as odd these days? We don't think that way anymore I don't think the Japanese Admiral in charge

Yamamoto who had been educated in the USA knew and he had advised the Japanese government

You know, make sure you declare war first before we bomb because he knew that the Americans would be offended

Not just for being bombed first But by the lack of integrity by the empty words like at verse 4 here now,

I don't think that would happen today I think if we got attacked by the Taliban while they know we were negotiating peace with them

We just say yeah, it's to be expected. What do you think it's gonna happen? We don't expect people to keep their word anymore as many of us don't keep our word anymore

The decline in marriage the high divorce rate isn't just because we're not focusing on the family enough

But because we don't think the marriage commitment means anything because we don't think any commitments mean anything

The vows are just kind of empty words that we use to adorn a ceremony You know actually put to keep them are we here the

Lord scorns? mere words words that people don't mean that they're not bound by empty oaths

Vows or covenants that you don't keep so instead of the luxuriant vines that they used to have here

Judgment will spring up like poisonous weeds in verse 4 the harvest of a culture of unfaithfulness of a lack of integrity is poisonous

Here the leaders especially lack integrity. They don't keep their word they promise first to be loyal to a

Syria and then they go try to ally with Egypt and the result will be that a Syria will destroy them for that the leaders in Samaria the capital city trembled because of their idol which is an idol to the

Lord in Bethel which means Beth which he calls here in verse 5 Beth oven calls

Bethel or Beth El Beth oven Beth El Where their shrine to the

Lord we mean, excuse me where their shrine to the Lord was it means Bethel means house of God Beth house

El of God But here the Lord scorns it as Beth oven which means house of Iniquity, it's not a house of God.

Like they said it's a house of sin The people the priest of these images in the house of iniquity they will mourn when it's all destroyed its glory

What what gave it worth? importance heaviness The Lord himself has departed from them the calf made to represent the

Lord will be carried off His booty to a Syria to be a treasure for the great king of that Empire The place where it was a verse 8 the height high places of oven of iniquity

They will be destroyed and what used to be the place where everyone went for their festivals

Imagine Times Square downtown, New York and Manhattan a high -traffic area Instead there'll be no one will go there anymore

So the weeds the thorns will grow up because no one will bother To walk that way so Israel will be ashamed of that idol the thing that they've been so proud of for generations like people now are always always people are

Always proud of their idols till it gets to be revealed that it's an idol They're proud of their idols how much money they have how successful their business is maybe for church the church business how many members you have of Maybe it mean other aisles of the relationship they have that their

King Here who was so lightweight that they denied They even had one worth paying attention to will be carried away like a twig on a stream and all of this will happen

When the judgment they didn't fear was coming comes then they'll flee into the mountains to get away from the

Assyrian troops and Plead for the mountains to cover them to get to collapse on them and mercifully kill them rather than fall into the hands of the

Assyrians Who will unmercifully kill them? The Lord Jesus said that the people who made their choice about him on Good Friday Will do the same beg for the mountains to spare them this time his time from Roman soldiers and Revelation says that people will once again

Who had before no fear of God? They will cry out to be crushed by the mountains

Rather than be judged by that God That before they had no fear of here in verse 9

God says that the Israelites have sinned From the days of Gibeah They've not progressed

From that from that time and so just as Gibeah was destroyed for its sin Israel will be destroyed when

I please God says I will Discipline them in verse 10. He will discipline them with the the instrument of other nations

Nations shall be gathered against them By the Lord he gathers their enemies is will be bound up taken away from their

He says they're double iniquity. In other words twice the sin that deserved their destruction

Their leaders are led to destruction because they wouldn't tell them the truth.

They wouldn't lead them to repentance today speaking like this about poisonous weeds of judgment from previous chapter chapter 8 about reaping the whirlwind about Discipline from God's hand being so severe that people would rather mountains collapse on them today

This is hardly ever heard We've had a decline in leadership

Finally there's been a decline of fruit Before in verse 11 Israel was a as a trained calf.

They just love to do the work That it was supposed to do Then the Lord didn't have to harness it with any rough yoke

It would put calluses on his neck didn't have to just do what he was supposed to do now after the decline

She must be yoked and burdened and pulled at because the rebelliousness that is the fruit of her heart won't be easily

Controlled they should inverse 12 plant crops to produce the fruit of righteousness that is cultivating themselves

Right lives to produce justice the fruit they would reap then would be

Steadfast love I Passed it to get that They need to break up that fallow ground follow is is hard Uncultivated ground overturn that hard crusty surface of their heart that hasn't been cultivated

That's been that's been left to nature left to our fallen nature

They need to break up their hard heart and seek the Lord so that he'll come and reign

Righteousness on them. That's what they should have been doing But instead in verse 13, they they've declined they plowed

Instead of to cultivate righteousness they plowed to plant iniquity sin the fruit then is a harvest of Injustice they oppress people maybe because of their race

Maybe they just need free labor on their plantations or maybe they just think they're those people are

Inconvenient for my lifestyle right now, and so I'll abort them The fruit they get then is from their lies a culture of broken commitments worthless vows calling some people property or or the mere product of conception

They got this because they trusted in their own way and what they thought was was right for them

Touch it in their numbers and their money Maybe how many warriors or missiles or members they had the result the fruit of that in verse 14

Will be he says turmoil war destruction Destruction particularly of the fortresses that they trusted in the dashing of pieces of mothers with their children

The same will happen to you destruction will be the fruit of your harvest Bethel he addresses

Bethel house of God Because of the great evil of thinking that you could worship

God Any way you choose? It's for you that you're the customer that you're the king then when that happens the decline religion they produce the decline hearts and the decline leaders will produce the fruit of Total Destruction.

Well, how about you? Have you been declining? Is your religion your church attendance your personal

Bible reading and in prayer about knowing and loving the Lord? or about Going through the motions

Like like paying an insurance premium You want him there keep your lifestyle insured it in your heart

Do you still have that first love that was like a plump luscious grapes in the desert or Is your heart now divided and distracted by other things?

Have you have you shriveled up? inside Have you declined in integrity?

You just got used to spouting empty words words that you don't really mean Is your heart is your heart?

hard Has it gotten crusty and resistant so that things

That used to appeal to you to appeals for you to to love to believe to give to worship to serve

But that those appeals that used to move you into and to draw you now

They just glide off your back like like water Have you been declining?

If so right now Let the word in the spirit Break up your fallow untilled heart plant in your heart faith and harvest steadfast love

Don't be a religious person so sure of yourself. So so hard -hearted by your self -righteousness that you would dare

Saunter up to the judgment seat boasting to Christ of how much you've done for him

That's the fruit of decline instead Say now

Woe is me Creating me a clean heart.