And He Died | Hosea

By Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

From Hosea Chapter 13:1-8

^13:1 When Ephraim spoke, people trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. ²Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!” ³Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window. ⁴“But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. ⁵I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat. ⁶When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. ⁷So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion, I will devour them—a wild animal will tear them apart.

God declared at one point regarding Ephraim: They are dead. The moment they went off to serve Baal, they had become dead in the eyes of God. In the same way, Adam and Eve ‘died’ after they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”

These verses tell us just how terrible sin is. When we sin, we die spiritually. In the first eight verses of Hosea Chapter 13, the prophet tells us about the terrible nature of sin:

1. Sin deprives people of status. Hosea 13:1 says, “… he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.” Originally exalted highly in Israel among the chosen people of God, Ephraim fell from the heights and lost their lofty status.
2. Sin causes people to lose their noble identity. Hosea 13:2 “Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!” Man had been created in the image of God. He was given authority to manage the whole earth as lord over it, but sin made him lose that status and identity. Now men are reduced to kissing the calf made by the hand; they subordinated themselves to livestock. Yet men continued on, unaware because sin had made them spiritually blind.
3. Sin makes a man lose his true worth. Hosea 13:3 “Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.” Man was initially God’s masterpiece but because of sin, he has lost his true value. The prophet said they are like the morning mist, the early dew, like chaff, like smoke. All of these disappear quickly, all exist for only a short while. Sin made man lost his own worth.
4. Sin makes people ungrateful. Hosea 13:6 says “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” Sin makes people ungrateful because sin is all about self-centeredness – “I am the greatest and I am the best.” How can such sinners find a reason to be grateful when they think “everything comes from me and everything is about me.”
5. Sin brings man punishment. Hosea 13:7-8 says “So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard, I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion, I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.” God will deal severely with sinners as a lion, a leopard, and a bear robbed of her cubs.

Sin is terribly destructive and God is a consuming fire, therefore, we must be quick to repent and confess our sins. Let us not wait for the wrath of God to come, for we wouldn’t be able to bear it.

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就死了 | 何西亞書 

張國強牧師

何西亞書 13:1-8

^13:1 從前以法蓮說話, 人都戰兢, 他在以色列中居處高位, 但他在事奉巴力的事上犯罪就死了。²現今他們罪上加罪, 用銀子為自己鑄造偶像, 就是照自己的聰明製造, 都是匠人的工作, 有人論說: 獻祭的人可以向牛犢親嘴。³因此, 他們必如早晨的雲霧, 又如速散的甘露, 像場上的糠秕被狂風吹去, 又像煙氣騰於窗外。⁴自從你出埃及地以來, 我就是耶和華你的神, 在我以外, 你不可認識別神, 除我以外並沒有救主。⁵我曾在曠野乾旱之地認識你。⁶這些民照我所賜的食物得了飽足, 既得飽足心就高傲, 忘記了我。⁷因此, 我向他們如獅子, 又如豹伏在道旁。⁸我遇見他們必像丟崽子的母熊,撕裂他們的胸膛, 在那裡我必像母獅吞喫他們,野獸必撕裂他們。

神向以法蓮宣告一件事: 他們已經死了。當他們事奉巴力的時候, 在神眼中他們已經死了。當亞當夏娃吃了分別善惡樹上果子的時候, 他們已經死了。保羅在以弗所書 2:1 你們死在過犯罪惡之中。這些經文都在告訴我們罪的可怕, 當我們犯罪的時候, 我們已經是一個屬靈的死人。在這八節的經文裡, 先知告訴我們罪的可怕性： 

1. 罪使人失去地位。13:1 他在以色列中居處高位, 但他在事奉巴力的事上犯罪就死了。本來在高位的以色列, 神的百姓, 被揀選的民族, 他們從高處中墜落了, 失去了崇高地位。
2. 罪使人失去了尊貴的身份。13:2 現今他們罪上加罪, 用銀子為自己鑄造偶像, 就是照自己的聰明製造, 都是匠人的工作, 有人論說: 獻祭的人可以向牛犢親嘴。人本來有神的形像, 人要管理全地, 是地上的主人, 但罪使人失去了地位, 也失去了身份, 他們與手所造的牛犢親嘴, 人讓要服在牲畜之下, 人還不自知, 因為罪使人成為了屬靈瞎眼的人。
3. 罪使人失去了真正的價值。13:3 因此, 他們必如早晨的雲霧, 又如速散的甘露, 像場上的糠秕被狂風吹去, 又像煙氣騰於窗外。人本是神的手中的傑作, 但因為罪, 人已經失去了當有的價值, 先知說: 他們如雲霧, 甘露, 糠秕, 煙氣, 這些一切都是忽然間消失的, 都只是很短暫的存在, 罪做人失去了價值。
4. 罪使人忘恩負。13:6 這些民照我所賜的食物得了飽足, 既得飽足心就高傲, 忘記了我。罪使人不會感恩, 因為罪本身就是自我中心, 我最大, 我最好, 這樣的罪人那會有感恩的理由, 因為一切都是出於我自己。
5. 罪使人受刑罰。13:7 因此, 我向他們如獅子, 又如豹伏在道旁。13:8 我遇見他們必像丟崽子的母熊, 撕裂他們的胸膛, 在那裡我必像母獅吞喫他們,野獸必撕裂他們。神很嚴厲責備他們, 如獅子, 如豹, 如丟崽子的母熊來對付犯罪的人。

罪是非常的可怕, 神是烈火, 所以要早早認罪悔改, 不要等神的烈怒發作, 我們是承受不了的。