I invite your attention to the reading of God's Word, first of all, from the Old Covenant, from the prophet Hosea, Hosea chapter 7. If you're using a Pew Bible, you'll find this on page 888 in your Pew Bible, page 888. Hosea chapter 7. We'll be reading this chapter in its entirety. Hosea chapter 7, hear now the reading of God's word. When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have committed fraud. A thief comes in, a band of robbers takes spoil outside. They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own deeds have surrounded them. They are before my face. They make a king glad with their wickedness and princes with their lives. They are all adulterers. Like an oven heated by a baker, he ceases stirring the fire after kneading the dough until it is leavened. In the day of our king, princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine. He stretched out his hand with scoffers. They prepare their hearts like an oven while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps all night. In the morning, it burns like a flaming fire. They are all hot like an oven and have devoured their judges. All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon me. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake unturned. Aliens have devoured his strength, but he does not know it. Yes. Gray hairs are here and there on him yet. He does not know it. And the pride of Israel testifies to his face, but they do not return to the Lord, their God, nor seek him for all this. Ephraim also is like a silly dove without sense. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. Wherever they go, I will spread my net on them. I will bring them down like birds of the air. I will chastise them according to what their congregation has heard. Woe to them, for they have fled from me. Destruction to them because they have transgressed against me. Though I redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. They did not cry out to me with their heart when they wailed upon their beds. They assembled together for grain and new wine. They rebel against me. Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. They return, but not to the most high. They are like a treacherous bow. Their princess shall fall by the sword for the cursings of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. And now turn with me, please, to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27, you'll find this on page 978 and continuing on just briefly to 979, 978 in your pew Bible page 978. Matthew chapter 27, reading verses 27 to 54. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him saying, hail king of the Jews. Then they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him and put his own clothes on him. and led him away to be crucified. Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, place of a skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him and divided his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him, this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself if you are the Son of God. Come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also mocking the scribes and elders said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now, if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. Now, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthanai. That is to say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, this man is calling for Elijah. Immediately, one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Then, behold, The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the earthquake. And the rocks were split and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion. And those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened. They feared greatly saying, truly, this was the son of God. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, today we consider Hosea chapter 7. Hosea chapter 7, in which Hosea pronounces judgment upon Israel for its lustful ways and its hypocrisy. Hosea pronounces judgment upon Israel for its lustful ways and it's hypocrisy. As you read this chapter, there are plenty of colorful expressions. As you have probably already noted, we're almost overwhelmed by all of the pictures painted for us by the prophet Hosea, the hot oven of a Baker verse four. Can you just feel the flames, the declining state of oldness portrayed by gray hairs, verse nine, a silly dove verse 11, the ensnaring of fowls of heaven, verse 12, howling upon beds, verse 14, a deceitful bow, verse 16. But perhaps the most striking metaphor in this passage is that of a cake not turned. Now, this notion of a cake not turned, found in verse 8, is quite remarkable. It is neither cake nor dough. I've heard of people baking dough over fires before and checking to see if, in point of fact, It is done all the way through, but here a cake not turned as a cake that is burned on one side and uncooked and all gooey on the other. That's the picture. That's the picture that Hosea is painting for us in order to demonstrate the hypocrisy of those who would claim to be the people of God. Now, the prophet, who had been called by God to take a wife of Hortum's, Gomer, as we know from the first part of this prophecy, here continues his diatribe against Israel. In chapters four and five, we have the indictment at law the idea of a courtroom in which Israel is being found guilty, and also trial by battle, chapter 5. In chapter 6, we see covenantal unfaithfulness. Yet, yet, praise God, hope for covenant breakers like you and me. We need to hear that today. Because without that hope, we'd all be lost. Look at chapter 6, verse 7. But like men, or perhaps better, but like Adam, they transgressed God's covenant. There they dealt treacherously with me. But, verse 6, there was hope for those who are genuine in repentance and who understand the spiritual nature of the covenant. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Well, it's in that context, then, of the prophet continuing to call for repentance. It's in that context in which we have the indictment. It's in that context in which we have the reminder of the transgressing of the covenant. It's in that context, then, that we come to chapter 7, in which Hosea pronounces judgment upon Israel for its lustful ways and its hypocrisy. Now, the first main point of the sermon today is this, the wickedness of Israel performed in the face of God. The wickedness of Israel performed in the face of God. Look at verse one. When I would have healed Israel. This wickedness, this hypocrisy. Is being done in the very face of God and in the very face of God's in light of God's goodness. God here proclaims himself a God of mercy. He was willing to heal Israel. This, of course, is similar to other expressions in scripture. Matthew chapter 23, shortly before Jesus's crucifixion, what does he say as he weeps over Jerusalem? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, how often would I have taken you under my wing, and yet you would not. But I'm willing, and that's what we find here, when I would have healed Israel. That healing, of course, would have consisted not merely in delivering them from all their troubles, all the foreign enemies, and so forth, but also that healing would have reformed them in terms of their sins. Is this not what we need? Isn't it what I need? Isn't it what you need this morning? Not just deliverance from sin, but reforming us from our sins. This is what we need. But healing, as we know, can sometimes be unpleasant. We need physicians, but sometimes they can hurt in their healing. What was the result then? We see here a discovery of the Israelites' sinful nature, the iniquity of Israel or Ephraim, the wickedness of Samaria. That is to say, they were hardened in their evil. And we see the manifestations of this. They committed falsehood. They defrauded one another. Theft and robbery characterized their dealings. But it's in the very presence of God and his mercy that these sins have come to light. When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity was uncovered. We also see this in the light of God's omniscience in verse two. They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. I remember God says, this is a practical atheism. God does see and does take notice of the affairs of men. The people of God certainly have been told this truth many times over, yet they refuse to believe it. As in Psalm 94, understand, oh, stupid people. When, oh fools, will you be wise? He who made the ear, does he not hear? He who made the eye, does he not see? How many times do we have to hear this truth before it sinks in? But this is a practical atheism. They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their sins. This is a reminder, then, of the true situation. They are guilty before God. And only when he pardons will he cast our sins behind himself. Look at the end of verse 2. Now their own deeds have surrounded them or their own doings have beset them about. It's like being bound by cords or being besieged by these sins. So the first major point is the wickedness of Israel performed in the face of God. And now we come secondly to the particular sins. And we see this by the leaders, the court, the king, the princess, and also then by the people. The particular sins then, first of all, by the leaders in Israel, the court, the king, and the princes. They were delighting in the wickedness of the people. Instead of promoting righteousness, rather, they gave themselves over to the wickedness of the people. Look at verse 3. They make a king glad with their wickedness and princes with their lies. In this election year, perhaps, it is good to be reminded that we need genuine leaders, godly leaders, and not the leaders that we deserve. because our leaders reflect who we are as a people. Well, so it was true with regard to Israel. And in other words, the people themselves encouraged the king in wickedness, encouraged princes with their lies. And these leaders then, in turn, gave themselves over to the wickedness of the people. What was this wickedness? Look at verse 4, sexual impurity. They are all adulterers. But that adultery was fueled by lusts as an oven heated by the baker. The word here heated implies being consumed with fire. In other words, when it is at its hottest, look at verse six, they've made their heart like an oven. Baker provides sufficient fuel for the night and goes to bed in the morning. The oven is well heated. Even so, corrupt people give themselves over to their lusts. Corrupt people are just waiting for the opportunity to allow those lusts to burn forth brightly in the morning. It burns. like a flaming fire, sexual impurity. And drunkenness, verse five, in the day of our king, princes have made him sick, inflamed with wine. This is bad for the king's health, sick with bottles of wine. It was, of course, bad as well for his honor as he stretched out his hand with scorners Instead of suppressing the scorners, the mockers, instead of that, his dignity was brought down by his joining with those who would engage in sacrilegious merriment. We also see the rage against just and holy authority. Verse 7, they are all hot. as an oven, opposition to human authorities, the best of the judges they devoured. All the kings have fallen. It is interesting to note how many kings in the history of Israel died violently. One king lasted a total seven days before he died. It reminds us, in many ways, of the Roman Empire, a stretch of time of half a century when there were something like 26 emperors. Well, the same was true in terms of the corruption of Israel. And furthermore, notice that no one, at the end of verse 7, No one seeks the proper solution to call upon the Lord. This of course means to worship God, but it also means to trust him, to call upon the Lord. That's the proper way. That's the solution. But instead they were all hot like an oven. Well, the particular sins are not only those of the leaders, including those who would assassinate other rulers, but also by the people themselves. Look at verse eight. We have the mingling with the world. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples become like the world. And my friends, is this not what you and I struggle with? Is this not what the Apostle Paul struggled with in Romans 7? The good that I want to do, I don't do, and so forth. Mingling with the world. Becoming, in some ways, like the world. Mingling, mixing in with the world. Mixing in the dough with the leaven of worldliness. And then that leads us to the end of verse 8, the half-hearted commitment Ephraim is a cake unturned. That's what's being indicated. It's a cake unturned. Burnt on one side, all gooey on the other. We'll have opportunity at the end of the message to come back to this figure. Notice in verses 13 and 15, the ingratitude, despite the Lord's having redeemed them, though I redeem them, verse 13, despite the fact that God had shown his love and his mercy, nevertheless, they fled from him. They fled from him and they rejected the laws he graciously gave to them by transgressing against those laws. The idea here is that of sinning with a high hand and being stiff necked, not a shred of excuse for their actions. Indeed, for the end of verse 13, yet they have spoken lies against me. We see the ingratitude also in verse 15, in which we have this This idea of God having set their broken arm and strengthened them for battle, yet they devised evil against him. And in verses 14 and 16, we see the hypocrisy. Look at verse 14. They did not cry out to me with their heart. when they wailed upon their beds. They've not cried unto me. They've cried, but they've not cried unto me with their heart. The word of God was in their mouths, but God was not in their heart. This howling upon their beds was either the noisiness of the prayers or the offensiveness of their prayers in God's ears because of the insincerity. There was also the idea here in verse 14 of wanting only material blessings. They assemble themselves. It's almost a picture of a religious ceremony, but not yearning for spiritual blessings. It was for the corn and wine rather than yearning for God. They assemble together for grain and new wine. They rebel against me." And verse 16, we again see the hypocrisy. They return, but not to the Most High. There's a feigned, a false return. Their hearts are not in it. Therefore, they are like a deceitful bow. It looks good. You take the bow out. Young men, boys, you ever fired a bow and arrow sometimes? You ever tried that? Tried firing, trying to shoot the bow? Then all of a sudden it fails miserably. Either the string breaking or the arrow not flying straight and true. Are you, my friends today, perhaps missing the mark? regarding righteous living, because you're like a deceitful bow. It is a sign of hypocrisy. Well, having seen, first of all, the wickedness of Israel performed in the face of God, and then secondly, the particular sins, now we come thirdly to the judgment We come, thirdly, to the judgment pronounced upon Israel for its lustful ways and hypocrisy. The judgment. Look at verses 9 through 11. There is an insensibility regarding the judgment. Strangers have devoured his strength, we read. Aliens, strangers, have devoured his strength. Enemies have eaten him up, taken away his wealth. whether through open hostility or through pretended friendship. Gray hairs are here and there upon him, are sprinkled upon him. And this indicates a decaying, declining state of affairs like a dying culture. But notice, in terms of this, that there is an unawareness of the situation twice. Verse 9 says, he knows it not. As Matthew Henry said, quote, stupidity under less judgments is a presage of greater coming. And is this not true in our society today? We read, the pride of Israel still testifies to his face. Despite the humbling circumstances, they refused to return to the Lord. They were unaware. The pride of Israel still testifies to his face. They were unaware of their situation. And we also read, Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart or without understanding, not concerned about her young being ensnared and taken, not understanding the traps that are laid. And finally, in terms of this insensibility regarding the judgment, trying to rely on foreign sources. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. Not only won't those foreign nations be able to help, But it is also the case the fact of looking to those sources is another cause of the Lord's controversy against Israel. And again, my friends, in this election year, is this not a temptation that we face of looking to the world for the answers instead of looking to the Lord and humbling ourselves and crying out to God even for our land. Well, there's insensibility regarding the judgment. Nevertheless, God's justice comes. Verse 12, I will spread my net upon them. I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven. I will chastise them as their congregation hath heard. They've heard the message in the assembly over and over and over again. God's justice is coming. Verse 13, there is the pronouncement of judgment. Woe unto them. Destruction unto them. Notice the aggravations and the reasons for this. Destruction unto them. Woe to them, for they have fled from me. having fled from the Lord instead of fleeing to Christ because they were destruction to them because they transgressed against me. Furthermore. Because they have spoken lies against him. Despite his having redeemed them. Finally, in verse 16, we see the Lord's vengeance. And this is because of the rage of their tongue, the cursings of their tongue. They're quarreling with God. The princes, we are told, shall fall by the sword. And they will become a laughingstock and a byword because of what happens to them. The very place, the very place where they sought succor. where they sought help, Egypt will be a place of derision, of being laughed at. As we read here, this is all according to God's justice. Now, I have three points of application today, and the first is this. Be warned. Be warned. regarding the awful picture of hell, the oven white hot with heat. You ever seen a blast furnace? You ever been or at least seen pictures of a steel mill? That's the picture. We sang about this, about God's judgment today from Psalm 21 and verse 9. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger. The Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. The picture, of course, in Hosea 7 is that of the lusts which burn. But God will give the appropriate punishment to adulterers and those who serve the lusts of the flesh. Secondly, appreciate the picture here of Jesus's suffering. Appreciate the picture here of Jesus's suffering. In Psalm 35 and verse 16. In Psalm 35 in verse 16, the Psalmist says, going back to verse 15, but in my adversity, they rejoiced and gathered together. Attackers gathered against me and I did not know it. They tore at me and did not cease with ungodly mockers at feasts. They gnashed at me with their teeth. And in Psalm 69, in Psalm 69 and verse 12, Psalm 69 earlier in the Psalm, of course, Jesus, it was applied to Jesus in terms of his, the zeal of his house, having eaten him up. And then it goes on in verse 10. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment. I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunkards. Here in Hosea 7, drunkenness and mockery go together. And the same is true, of course, with respect to Jesus's suffering, as we see here in Psalm 69, as we hear, as we read today from Matthew 27, the mocking of Jesus at the cross. Appreciate the picture here of Jesus's suffering. And finally, beware. Beware. the danger of half-heartedness and hypocrisy in the things of the Lord. I want to read several sentences from the great Baptist preacher of the 19th century. Charles Haddon Spurgeon is commenting on Hosea 7, verse 8. A cake not turned is uncooked on one side. And so Ephraim was, in many respects, untouched by divine grace. So there was some partial obedience. There was very much rebellion left. My soul, I charge thee, see whether this be thy case. Art thou thorough in the things of God? Has grace gone through the very center of thy being so as to be felt in its divine operations, all thy powers, thy actions, thy words, and thy thoughts. To be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body should be thine aim and prayer. And although sanctification may not be perfect in thee anywhere in degree, yet it must be universal in its action. There must not be the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another else thou too wilt be a cake not turned. A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire. And although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth which they have received, or are charred to a cinder with a vainglorious pharisaic ostentation of those religious performances which suit their humor. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital living godliness. The saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flower by day and in soot by night. The cake which is burned on one side is dough on the other. If it be so with me, oh Lord, turn me. Turn my unsanctified nature to the fire of thy love and let it feel the sacred glow. And let my burnt side cool a little while I learn my own weakness and want of heat. When I am removed from my heavenly flame, let me not be found a double-minded man, but one entirely under the powerful influence of reigning grace. For well I know, if I am left like a cake unturned and I'm not on both sides the subject of thy grace, I must be consumed forever amid everlasting burnings. a Kate not turned. Amen.