People, we're turning tonight in our Bibles.
Thank you, Lawrence. Turning on our Bibles to Hosea,
Chapter 11. Hosea Chapter 11.
We'll take time to read the chapter.
We'll read from verse one, the book of Hosea.
If you find Ezekiel and then come forward, Daniel, Hosea,
we're Chapter 11. Let's hear God's word.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out
of Egypt as they called them. So they went from them.
They sacrificed unto Balaam, and burnt incense to graven images.
I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but
they knew not that I healed them.
I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love, and I was to
them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and I laid
meat unto them. He shall not return into the
land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they
refuse to return. And the sword shall abide on his
cities, and shall consume his branches and devour them,
because of their own councils. And my people are bent to
backsliding from me, though they called them to the Most High,
none at all would exalt them. How shall I give thee up,
Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee,
Israel? How shall I make thee as Adma?
How shall I set thee as Zeboom? Mine heart is turned within me.
My repentance are kindled together.
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger.
I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not
man, the Holy One in the midst of thee.
I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord.
He shall roar like a lion when he shall roar.
Then the children shall tremble from the West.
They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of
the land of Assyria. And I will please them in their
houses, saith the Lord. Ephraim compasseth me about with
lies, and the House of Israel with deceit.
But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the Saints.
Amen. My Lord will stamp with his own
approval and blessing this reading upon his precious and
infallible word. Amen.
Now my text tonight is taken from Hosea Chapter 11, verse 4.
It reads, I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love, and
I was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and
I laid meat unto them. And I want to ask this question
tonight. Are you drawn with the bands of
love? The book of Hosea or Hosea's
prophecy stretched from 770 BC to 725 BC.
His prophecy lasted about 50 years and if you read the 14
chapters, Hosea 123 is a message about relationship, a real
relationship with a husband and wife.
The husband in this case is called Hosea.
He was a prophet of God. The wife was called Gomar, who
sadly was a prostitute. 2 real literal historical people. 1A
prophet of God and 1A prostitute.
Their marriage relationship was a picture of the relationship
that the Lord had with ancient Israel.
Now there's many acknowledges in the Bible depicting how the Lord
relates to us. A king to his subjects, a master
Potter to the clay, a loving father to a child, a shepherd to
his sheep, a merchant to his goods.
However, all of them together fall short of fully revealing
what the Lord is really after in a relationship with us.
The marriage relationship unfolds what He's after.
Hosea, chapters 4 to 10 is a message of God's judgement upon
us. Not just a relationship with us,
but God's judgement upon us for sin and wilful rebellion.
You see, sadly, our relationship to the Lord is like a bad
marriage. On our part.
There's unfaithfulness on our part.
There's cover up and deficiencies and wrongdoing and
shortcoming and lies and loss. And yet Hosea remained faithful
to his wife despite her unfaithfulness, despite her
adulteries. And in this way, he was a faint
picture demonstrating God's covenant faithful love to us.
Let's remember that sin pays wages.
Let's remember that sin always has consequences, painful
consequences in this life, for the way of the transgressor is
hard. And of course, painful
consequences, everlasting consequences in the world to
come in hell itself. And then in chapters 11 to 14,
we have a third message. We've got a message of God's
mercy for us in Chapter 11, verse one.
God is represented as a wise father and Israel is God's son.
And we're taught here how God loved his Son and called him out
of Egypt. You see, the Lord has been kind
and good to Israel despite Israel's past and present base
in gratitude time and time again, despite Israel's
unfaithfulness, despite provoking the Lord to anger and
sinning against him. What does God say?
When Israel was a child, then I loved him.
He tells us. I have called him I, I have him
in my heart and mind and, and I want to do him good.
Look at verse 8. How shall I give thee up?
Be free. How shall I deliver thee,
Israel? How shall I make thee as Atma?
How shall I set thee as Zebo? My heart is turned within me.
My repentance are kindled all together.
And then we come to verse 9. I will not execute the
fierceness of mine anger. I will not return to destroy
Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst
of thee. You see here in this opening
chapter of Chapter 11, the Lord is speaking, and here he's
reminiscing. He's remembering the early years
of Israel's history. Israel at this time was an
Egyptian bondage. Israel lived there in a terrible
state of slavery. Israel's in a a a dreadful
position. The people were slaves, the
these people were under the rule and power of Pharaoh over their
lives. The people were not free, they
were controlled. And what did God do?
God raised up a deliverer. He brought them out.
Remember the 10th plague, the death of the first born and how
death was defeated by the power of the blood.
He said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
Exodus 12 and 13. And God called at that time and
the Exodus, Israel to himself. He brought them across the Red
Sea. He he brought them into the
wilderness, and in the wilderness he was with them.
He went before them, pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire
by night. He led them, He, he, he fed
them, and yet they repaid his loving kindness.
By what? By sacrifices unto delim, as it
says in verse one. They burnt incenses to graven
images, and the more they were called and chosen, and the more
they were comforted by God, the more they went away from Him.
Let me illustrate. Suppose a boy meets a girl and
they're dating and they're courting, and the boy does all
that he can to please the girl. He dearly loves her.
He wants to spend time with her. He wants to do things together,
but she doesn't. She wants to do her own thing.
She does everything she can to upset him and annoy him.
She really doesn't want to talk to him when he talks to her on
the phone. She doesn't want to do anything
with him. And he's pleading with her.
And she says, ah, thanks very much for asking, but no thanks,
really. I don't want to do the coffee
morning. I don't want to do the lunch.
I don't want to go there or I don't want to go here.
Would that young boy be confused?
Would he be baffled? Would he wonder, Does this girl
that I'm in love with really love me and want me?
I believe he would. But yet that illustration peels
into insignificance when we think about our Heavenly Father.
He did everything to provide a Saviour for us to save us from
sin, to save us from hell, to save us from judgement.
He he he was married to us in the sense he brought us into
your right relationship with himself through union with
Christ. And yet so often we have done
exactly the same thing that Israel has done.
Listen to what he says in verse 2 verse three.
I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms, but
they knew not that I had healed them.
He says. I taught them to walk.
I took them by the arm, I LED them by the hand, and yet now
they're walking away from me. I gave them everything.
They were weak and feeble. They needed help and healing,
and I was the one who provided it all for them.
But they didn't lay that. The heart that brings us to
verse 4I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love and I
was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws and
they led me to name. Here's a wonderful text and I
asked the question tonight. Having set up the context.
Are you drawn by the bands of love.
Notice 4 things here very quickly.
First of all, the principle that is presented.
I drew them with cords of a man with bands of love and we're
learning here of the way that God draws people.
Remember there's some references found in the Old and New
Testament, found in Holy Scripture, found in Christian
experience. Song of Solomon, chapter one,
verse 4, draw me. There was a prayer of God's
people in John 6 and 44. The Lord Jesus said no man can
come to me except the Father, which have sent me.
Draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 12 and 32 I If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw
all men unto me. You see the words, I drew them.
It's a gospel term. He, he, he tells us of the way
that he draws them. Notice the words.
I drew them high with cords of a man, with bands of love.
You see, there's an implication here.
What does the picture imply? It implies a people separated
from God. Are people living far away from
him? Are people in idolatry?
Are people in iniquity, living in the way of sin, living in the
way of self? Remember Isaiah, the prophet
said All we like sheep have gone astray, and we've turned
everyone to his own way, and the Lord have laid in him the
iniquity of us all. All we, like sheep have gone
astray. We have turned each one to our
own way. That's the picture of people
separated from God. But also here's another
implication. People are adverse to turning
back to God. They hear preaching, they're
urged to repent and believe the gospel.
They're instructed, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you a rest.
But their heart and mind is full of resistance.
They they have a stubborn mindset that they're opposed to
God in this word. Why?
Because I believe they're dead in sin.
I believe they're darkened by sin.
I believe they've been diseased by sin.
As an Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.
And not only that, but people are full of their own sinful
notions. They're not responding.
And the Lord says I drew them with cords of a man, with bands
of love. So that's the implication.
But there's an instruction here. I drew them with cords of a man.
That's a reference to gentleness.
He drew them gently, not by force, not by anger, not
striking fear into their hearts and lives He could have done.
But with cords of a man, you see, he's not pulling an ox, or
he's not dealing with a stubborn heifer who doesn't want the
move, or he's not dealing with a stubborn old donkey that doesn't
want the move. You see, if you're an ox or a
donkey or a heifer that didn't want the move, you, you would,
you would have to deal with it not gently, but roughly.
And of course, God can and does deal with people roughly.
He can break bones if he needs to, to get you to set up and
listen and pay attention to what he's saying, to draw you to
himself. But when he says I drew them
with courts of a man, this was a gentle, goodwill way.
Men were not conforced, not coerced, not not against their
will. He not only drew them gently,
but he drew them graciously. In other words, it was the
courts of a man in a in a very humane way.
He hears how the Lord goes about things.
He says I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.
You see, his drawing power is in the power of love, the power of
sweetness, the power of gentleness, the power of love
that overcomes all opposition. In Galatians 2 and 20 we read of
Christ the Son of God, who loved me, gave himself for me.
See, Paul was always fascinated with those 3 words.
Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells
me so. And what does the Bible teach?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. And you see, whenever we come to
the Christ and the cradle, if I could use that expression,
remember, great is the mystery of God.
And as God was manifest in the flesh, and when you look into
the babe of Bethlehem, you're looking into the face of God
Incarnate. And, and then, and then we come
from the cradle to the cross and we think of the Lord Jesus dying
there in, in agony and blood, offering himself a once and for
all sacrifice for sin. And when we think of the Son of
God who loved me and gave himself for me, you see, we
cannot Plumb the depths of that. We cannot scale the heights of
that. We can't get our arms around the
breadth of that a once and for all sacrifice for sin.
The Bible tells us there in the Gospel of first John, in first
John and in chapter 4 we read there in the verse 9 he tells us
these beautiful words. In this was manifested the love
of God towards us because that God sent His only begotten Son
into the world, that we might live through him here in his
love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation.
The word propitiation means the covering for our sins.
Now let me ask you this, what do you know of this?
I have drawn you with the cords of a man with bands of love.
Have you felt the pulling power of God on your heart and mind,
encouraging you to seek the Lord while he may be fined, to to
come to him now to to only trust him?
You see, this is one of the ways that the Lord works.
You hear a sermon, you hear somebody testify, someone sings
a gospel song, someone comes and offers you a tract, someone
says, I'm praying for you. Maybe you feel a desire to open
your Bible and read a portion of the word of God.
Maybe you've even asked a Christian, would you pray for
me? Maybe you've asked for guidance
or counsel about some particular area of your life.
Maybe you've experienced a disaster.
Let it be a fall or let it be an illness or let it be the death
of the loved one. And, and, and all of a sudden
you've become afraid And all of a sudden you've remembered
there's a God in heaven with whom we have to do and, and you
feel inclined to do that God. And, and you're listening now
you're listening more carefully. You're paying the closest
attention. You're you're laying at the
heart. Maybe you've got the desire and
the thought comes into your mind.
Do you know I'd love to be saved.
I'd love to be a Christian. So I asked that has that ever
been true of you? Because that is the drawing
power of our God. That is God saying I draw them
or drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.
There's not only an implication here, and there's not only an
instruction here, but there's an impossibility here.
See, you can't come of your own ability because you're without
strength. You're full of weakness.
You can't save yourself. Even though you hear the Word of
God and feel the power of the Spirit tugging at your heart,
and God's at work in and off your mind, you'll not come
unless the Lord's hand is upon you to draw you to himself.
The Bible says it is God that worketh in you both the will and
the do of His good pleasure. It's the Lord that enables you
to come. It's the Lord that calls come
and come now. That's the principle that is
being presented. Notice secondly, the person that
is mentioned. If you look at our text, it says
I drew them with the cords of a man with bands of love, and I
was to them as they that take off the yoke of their jaws, and
I LED meet upon them. Notice the word I, the personal
pronoun 3 times. Who draws us?
The answer is the Lord himself, Jehovah.
And what does he draw us from? Here's the answer.
He draws us from a life of sin, from sin's penalty and power and
pleasure. He draws us from a life of
unbelief, where we no longer doubt but what we believe.
He draws us from a life of foolish and vain pursuits.
He draws us from living for the world's witches and wealth.
He he draws us from a life of self will, wanting our way to
His way. Who does he draw us to?
He draws us to his lovely Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our handbook we ask the question, is there anyone can
help us? One who understands our hearts
when the thorns of life are pierced until they bleed.
One who sympathises with us, who in wondrous love imparts just
the very, very blessing that we need.
And here's the answer to that particular hymn.
Yes, there's one, the only one, the blessed, blessed Jesus.
He's the one when afflictions press the soul, and waves of
trouble rode, and you need a friend to help you, He's the
one. And what does way does he draw
us? He draws us by his Spirit.
You see, this drawing is a spiritual movement that takes
place. It takes place in the heart and
the mind and in the soul. He, he induces us.
He, he initiates all of this by the power of a spirit.
And the Spirit who's come to introduces to Christ, draws us
to Christ. Let me illustrate.
Think of a powerful magnet. And I've got a magnet and I've
got a lot of shavings sitting on a desk.
And I put the magnet in the direction of the shavings.
The savings begin to move. They move in the direction of
the magnet. It's the magnet's power that's
drawing the shavings. And you see, you ought to feel
in your heart that you want to come to Christ.
You ought to have a desire. I want to be saved.
And that strange desire is the working and wooing of the Spirit
of God to introduce you to Christ.
I'm well aware the Lord can use the fear of death.
I'm well aware the Lord can use the threat of judgement and hail
to awaken sinners. But often times the Lord uses
the power of love. Paul says the love of Christ
constrain us. It wasn't a fear of death, it
wasn't standing at the judgement.
It was the love of Christ that constrained Paul to live the way
that he lived because he was overwhelmed, because this love
of God had been shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit.
And, and he was fascinated. He was overwhelmed by by the
love of God. You see, the love of God is a
special love. The love of God is a
substitutionary love. The love of God is a sacrificing
love, the love of God's a a saving love.
And once that begins to get a grip on our heart, he he loves
me. Oh, the power of love.
The third thing I want to emphasise tonight is the power
that is exercised. Notice what he says as we go on
in the text and I was to them as they that take off the yoke of
their jaws. You've got to think of oxen.
You've got to think of an oxen forced service.
The oxes bound by the yoke in Eastern times, in eastern days,
a wooden harness was upon the ox with a with a bitterness mouth.
And and this ox that had this yoke upon it was a picture of
the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage and what an
awful bondage it was. And the God says to them, and I
was to them, as they that take off the yoke of their jaws.
And the word take off in the Hebrew means to lift off.
And when the yoke is lifted off, the oxen is set free.
And the oxen if he could speak was probably say Hallelujah,
that burden is lifted. You get a picture of a people
that the yoke has been lifted off them and they've been set
free and delivered. Here's the relevance.
Slaves in bondage under the yoke, in bondage to sin, accused
by a just and holy law, concerned about God's judgement,
and yet that yoke has been lifted off.
What a relief. See, the yoke is painful.
The yoke is burdensome and grievous.
But when it's lifted off, the pain and the grievousness eases.
And of course, not only is it relevant, not only is there
rest, there's relief and rest and rest of courses as welcome.
And here's the result. They're set free.
And the Lord Jesus said John 8 and 32.
If the Son shall make you free, he shall be free.
Indeed, sin pays wages, sin brings us into bondage.
The wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life, and
those who sinned and do sin are under God's judgement.
I think tonight of the alcoholic, as many Alcoholics in
Northern Ireland, young and old alike, the first drinks, the
worst drink. The drug addict will tell you
that the first taste of drugs was probably the wiggest and
worst mistake they ever made, the gambler.
But whatever the chief sin is and whatever your chief sin is,
and there's many of chief sins, whether it's lying or secret
porn addiction or full of pride and greed or jealousy or beating
one's wife, once you're convicted of that sin, I'm
convinced that it's a heinous thing that brings you under the
judgement of God because sin pays wages not only in this life
but in the world to come. And you cry for salvation, and
you cry, Lord, save me. Then here's the power that's
implemented. The sun comes and sets you free.
He lifts the yoke off you. That's the relevance.
You enjoy relief and rest, and you've got this result.
You've been set free. Sin no longer controls you.
The law doesn't rise up to condemn you.
The judgement of God is not going to damn you.
Why? Because you've recognised you
were a slave, sold under sin in bondage.
But you wanted to be set free. You wanted to be released.
You wanted to find rest. You receive Christ as he's
offered to you in the gospel. And here's the result.
To whom the sun sets. Free is free indeed.
We were singing. He's able to deliver you.
He's able to set you free from the yoke of bondage.
We should pray for the alcoholic and the drug addict and the
gambler that there's many of them in carried off many of them
throughout our community and beyond.
And we should pray that God would smite the state of Sinner,
and God would visit them with great conviction and convince
them that Christ can set them free.
Let me ask, have you cried? Have you been set free?
Have you cried out? Lord, save me, I perish.
See, that's important. Here's the power that's
exercised, but that power isn't exercised until you cry for that
deliverance. Notice one last thing, the
provision that is promised. If you look again at the text
that says, And I laid meat unto thee, let me pause there.
I believe that's a reference to the Lord's provision in the
wilderness for the children of Israel.
It's a reference to the manna. It's a reference to the queal
which they got during the 40 years wandering in the
wilderness. You can read about that in Psalm
chapter 78. It says in Psalm 78 and had
rained down mana upon them to eat, and had given them of the
corn of heaven. Man that eat angels food.
He sent the meat to the full. That's what the Lord did.
But when you come to Christ, and here's the spiritual analogy,
you discover a feast of good things or not just bread,
because Christ said in the bread of life, not just the milk of
the word, but meat. Isn't it a wonderful thing to
have a plate of meat? If you go down there to smoke
BBQ, you'll get a real feast of meat on your plate.
You'll hardly be able to eat it all.
I don't recommend you get the five selection.
Better just get in the three because you'll need a wee bag or
a wee box to bring it home. But you think of a feast, a
table laden with good things. You think with me as we finish
of the wonderful promises of God in the Gospel, every promise ye
and Amen to us, you're in Christ Jesus. 2nd Corinthians 1 and 20,
all 7300 of them, if Herbert Lockyer is right.
And what does God promise you tonight when you cry and he sets
you free, a full free and forever pardon.
Hebrews 10 and 17 and thy sins and iniquities.
I remember no more. All your sins of thought were
indeed, they're all gone. Your chief sins, your worst
sins, the most heinous things that you've ever done, things
that you've forgotten but come back to haunt you, they're all
under the blood. God puts them in the sea called
forgetfulness. Over there in the book of Psalms
and Psalm 32, He tells us, blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputed, not iniquity under
whose spirit there is no guile. I put it to you tonight, that's
one of life's greatest blessings.
You have the knowledge of sins forgiven.
You can lay your head in the pillow and say us well in the
soul, because my sins are forgotten.
Here's another blessing. Access to God's throne.
We can talk to God in prayer, He tells us.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4 and 16. We've been adopted into God's
family. God's our heavenly Father, we
are his children. You see, if God's our heavenly
Father and Christ is our Lord and Saviour, then we're all
brothers and sisters. We're related.
We're in the one family, in the family of God.
We have peace with God. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have the peace of God. And the peace of God which
passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit indwells us, Holy Spirit leads and guides us
in the journey. The Holy Spirit can enfil us,
helping us to live a life of victory, a life of vibrancy unto
God, a life of loving service. Can I ask this?
Have you been drawn by the bands of love?
I want you to think again of what we were saying there.
Remember the principle that is presented.
I have drawn them and then think with me very clearly of the
person that's mentioned. I have done it.
And the power that He exercises, it's power to set men free.
And then here's His profession. I have led meat unto them.
Now is that a word for you tonight?
Have you been drawn by the bands of love?
You've got your eye in this principle, the drawing of God,
and you've heard this person speak to you.
I'm I've done this for you or I will do this.
And you've felt that power and that power has been exercised by
his Spirit. Tonight you enjoy all his rich
provision. And I've only scratched what
some of that provision is. It's like a, a feast of good
things. I have laid meat upon them so
they're not hungry. They're fed and they're
satisfied. They enjoy all that I have for
them, the rich resources of Christ.
I ask again for the final time, Have you been drawn?
Are you drawn by the bounds of love?
May the Lord take these few thoughts and bless them to you.
And I trust and pray that the Lord will apply His word in a
saving way.