Hosea 9 – Days Without God 何西阿书9 – 无神的日子
Wednesday, 10th May 2023
星期三2023年5月10日
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
潘锡安牧师
Section One V1-6 God Will Take Back when the Relationship is Broken关系决裂神必追讨
Are we living in a life of blindness? We thought we have God, we thought we have offered, we thought we attended the services, we thought we are doing well… but do we really have a relationship with God? In the Book of Hosea, God told His people that they were living in blindness, and today, He is also telling us that we are also living in blindness, we must see our problems and return to Him. We are living a life without God, because we are living in rebelliousness, we seek the lustful desires of this world, and we don’t know that everything we have is from God.
V1-4 ‘Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples, for you have played the harlot against your God. You have made love for hire on every threshing floor. The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat unclean things in Assyria. They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, nor shall their sacrifices be pleasing to Him. It shall be like bread of mourners to them; all who eat it shall be defiled. For their bread shall be for their own life; it shall not come into the house of the Lord.’
V1-4 ‘以色列啊，不要像外邦人欢喜快乐，因为你行邪淫离弃你的神，在各谷场上如妓女喜爱赏赐。 谷场和酒榨都不够以色列人使用，新酒也必缺乏。 他们必不得住耶和华的地，以法莲却要归回埃及，必在亚述吃不洁净的食物。 他们必不得向耶和华奠酒，即便奠酒也不蒙悦纳。他们的祭物必如居丧者的食物，凡吃的必被玷污，因他们的食物只为自己的口腹，必不奉入耶和华的殿。’
When we rely on the world instead of relying on God, then He will take back everything from us, because we don’t think that what we have is from God, we seek the help of the world, and we despise what God gives us. We are the ones being called, God calls us to bless us, yet we are stiff necked, we don’t treasure the Promised Land and go back to Egypt. We break the relationship we have with God, we chase the good things in Egypt, so God will take back and let us stay in Egypt. It’s not only about a physical place, but it’s about our hearts. Maybe we still stay in the same place, in the same church, but when our hearts turn to the desires of the world, then we will stop God’s blessings coming to us.
V5-6 ‘What will you do in the appointed day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord? For indeed they are gone because of destruction. Egypt shall gather them up; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their valuables of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.’
V5-6 ‘在大会的日子，到耶和华的节期，你们怎样行呢？ 看哪，他们逃避灾难，埃及人必收殓他们的尸首，摩弗人必葬埋他们的骸骨。他们用银子做的美物上必长蒺藜，他们的帐篷中必生荆棘。’
Do we really treasure the time we can spend with God? Do we treasure every time we can come to pray at the church? What is our attitude towards the festivals of the Lord? God knows our hearts, He knows that we are trying to run away from our problems, He knows that even though our physical body is in the church, our hearts are not here. He is warning us today, He wants to restore the relationship with us, but we are the ones, who broke the relationship, broke the covenant, and turn to the world and its idols. God will take everything back, when we chose to break this relationship with Him.
Section Two V7-9 弃决先知彻底败坏
V7-9 ‘The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come. Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity. The watchman of Ephraim is with my God; but the prophet is a fowler’s snare in all his ways—Enmity in the house of his God. They are deeply corrupted, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity; He will punish their sins.’
V7-9 ‘以色列人必知道降罚的日子临近，报应的时候来到。民说：“做先知的是愚昧，受灵感的是狂妄。”皆因他们多多作孽，大怀怨恨。 以法莲曾做我神守望的，至于先知，在他一切的道上作为捕鸟人的网罗，在他神的家中怀怨恨。 以法莲深深地败坏，如在基比亚的日子一样。耶和华必记念他们的罪孽，追讨他们的罪恶。’
The prophets are trying to teach people, they spoke the Word of God, but people would not listen. Furthermore, they rejected the teaching of God spoken by the prophets, they made fun of the words that were spoken, and they sinned against God more.
Section Three V10-17 罪孽深重漂流在外
V10-13 ‘I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame; they became an abomination like the thing they loved. As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird— No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception! Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them to the last man. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them! Just as I saw Ephraim like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place, so Ephraim will bring out his children to the murderer.’
V10-13 ‘主说：“我遇见以色列如葡萄在旷野，我看见你们的列祖如无花果树上春季初熟的果子。他们却来到巴力毗珥专拜那可羞耻的，就成为可憎恶的，与他们所爱的一样。 至于以法莲人，他们的荣耀必如鸟飞去，必不生产，不怀胎，不成孕。 纵然养大儿女，我却必使他们丧子，甚至不留一个。我离弃他们，他们就有祸了。 我看以法莲如推罗栽于美地，以法莲却要将自己的儿女带出来，交于行杀戮的人。’
The Israelites continued to rebel against God, when God led them out of Egypt, the first generation was rebellious and was unable to enter the Promised Land. The second generation entered the land, but was unable to get rid of all the idols of the land, and ended up in snares. We want to have this world, we want the things of the world, but we reject God, and at the end, we can never receive the promises God wants to give us and our children.
V14-17 ‘Give them, O Lord—What will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts! All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them. Because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them from My house; I will love them no more. All their princes are rebellious. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Yes, were they to bear children, I would kill the darlings of their womb. My God will cast them away, because they did not obey Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.’
V14-17 ‘耶和华啊，求你加给他们——加什么呢？要使他们胎坠乳干！耶和华说：他们一切的恶事都在吉甲，我在那里憎恶他们。因他们所行的恶，我必从我地上赶出他们去，不再怜爱他们。他们的首领都是悖逆的。以法莲受责罚，根本枯干，必不能结果，即或生产，我必杀他们所生的爱子。我的神必弃绝他们，因为他们不听从他，他们也必漂流在列国中。’
God wants to let us receive glory together with Him, but we reject this glory. God loves us and He is merciful, but He is also righteous. We rebel against God, we worship the idols of this world, and our sins stop us building the relationship God. Do not think we are blessed, we may have everything we want in this world, but at the end we will have nothing. We don’t even know that we are being rejected because of our blindness. God is talking to us earnestly today through the prophet, let us see this problem in our lives, let us repent from our sins, and let us really know our problems so we can stay alert.
God is with us, but we are living a life without God. It’s a warning sign for us, our attitude for God needs to change. We come to church not for anyone but for ourselves because we need to come to build the relationship with God. The Kingdom is near we must repent!