Turned Upside Down

Turned Upside Down

Text: Hosea 6:7-11 Date: 7-12-26

Truth: A nation that turns righteousness into wickedness will always face the wrath of Almighty God at some point in its history.

1. The normalcy of wickedness: When wrong becomes right (Hosea 6:7-9)

Right became wrong when the people rejected God, which in turn will bring rejection by God.

Are you living a life of faithfulness or unfaithfulness toward God? Have you turned what is right and true into something that is wrong and counterfeit? Has your mind convinced you that it is okay to be unfaithful to God? Our Lord has given us the answer to sin, yet we often treat Him in an unfaithful manner. You may think this is a small sin to have times of unfaithfulness toward the Lord. Soon, though, you will find excuses in other ways, and you will unravel into a cycle of fleshy desires and sinful appetites. Col. 3:1 tells us to devote our desires on things above. As you lived your life this past week, were your desires devoted toward God or toward the world?

What was once a city of refuge and home for many Levitical priests had been turned into a city of debased wickedness. Right has become wrong. Gilead had become a home to injustice, deception, morally objectionable behavior, and wickedness of all sorts (basic idea of iniquity).

The people of this area trampled one another to death. The streets were stained with footprints of blood. Murder had become so commonplace that the blood stains were everywhere.

The priests are singled out as the ones who, like a gang of robbers, lie in wait for their victims.

Instead of Shechem being a city of Refuge, it became home for murderous priests. This city of refuge had been turned upside down as the fruit of idolatry had reared its head through God’s ordained representatives. A place of justice and escape from bloodshed became just the opposite.

Truth: Sin will always take you further than you want to go. Adopting a sinful lifestyle opposed to God will bring both a downward spiral and ultimately God’s judgment. I Tim. 4:1-2 says: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

Truth: Has right become wrong and wrong become right in your life? What thoughts have become right that you know shouldn’t be a part of your mind? What behaviors do you tolerate that God hates?

2. The notification of Jehovah: When wrong becomes judged (Hosea 6:10-11)

• God had seen enough, which means that God could both see their wickedness and He would not stand idly by watching things continue downhill.
• The transgression of God’s covenant with His people is now described as a horrible thing (vs. 6-7). In Jer. 29:17, Jeremiah uses this root word to describe rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. Read Jer. 23:14 (horrible).
• God specifically called out the unfaithfulness of Ephraim (Israel). The nation had become completely desecrated and defiled by its unfaithfulness toward the Lord, described as prostitution here
• This whoredom was both physical and spiritual in nature.
• Listen to Phillips: “The whoredom of Israel was not just a flirtation that had gone too far. In such a case, the guilty parties are often overwhelmed with a sense of uncleanness and shame. Nor was Israel’s whoredom merely a sinful, unblessed union entered into without regard for the conventions of society or the laws of God. Nor was her whoredom simply a matter of adultery. The “horrible thing” was far worse.

True, unblessed unions have penalties, not the least of which is a grieved Holy Spirit. People indulging in such relationships will be haunted by their guilt, and in the end, their sin will find them out. And God’s law imposed the death penalty for adultery in Old Testament times. Although unconventional liaisons are common today and adulterous behavior is practically laughed out of court, God’s judgment is certain. He has an arsenal of weapons for punishing sexual sin. There are physical, psychological, medical, and spiritual consequences, as King David discovered”.[1]

• God saw the horrible things that the nation did. So did Hosea. In having a union with a temple prostitute, the depraved worship mocked in the face of God.

Conclusion

1) God longs to heal His people, yet would the people respond?

2) Will we respond to God’s call, or will we continue to make wrong right?

3) Judgment will come.

4) God will restore His people in the future, but they had to pay retribution for their idolatry.

[1] Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary (Ho 6:1–11). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.