Episode Transcript
Hosea 10, God willing, we'll be expounding verse 11 this morning.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000
It's good to see Sister Becky Shepard back with us this morning.
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,900
Yes, thank the Lord.
00:00:07,900 --> 00:00:10,680
The tile of the message this morning is heifers in the house of God.
00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:17,320
Dad, I did not make that connection.
00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,000
Y'all did.
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,800
The timing there just wasn't good, was it?
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:30,040
Man, that's a blooper right there.
00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,640
That had nothing to do with Sister Becky Shepard.
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,240
Sister Becky has children, she can't be a heifer anyway,
00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,800
which we'll learn about here in just a moment.
00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,340
I promise that did not mean to come out that way.
00:00:43,340 --> 00:00:47,140
Hosea 10, verse 11, heifers in the house of God.
00:00:47,140 --> 00:00:51,940
In verse 10 last week, we learned that Israel had tied herself to two furrows,
00:00:51,940 --> 00:00:59,640
meaning she's playing two different rows in two different directions
00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,440
for two different masters at the same time, and we all know it can't be done.
00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,240
Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters."
00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:14,640
Jesus said, "No man putting his hand to the plow."
00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,800
Plows in front of him, and looking back in the opposite direction,
00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,600
the direction that plows going, is not fit for the kingdom of God.
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:29,240
So God was going to judge Israel because their hand physically and outwardly
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,440
may have been on God's plow, but their heart was looking to the gods,
00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,800
the nations around them.
00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,540
Continuing with the theme of plowing in verse 11 now, God says,
00:01:40,540 --> 00:01:45,640
"And Ephraim is an heifer that is taught."
00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:50,140
Let's pray.
00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:50,840
Father, we thank you for your precious word.
00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,340
Thank you for the good singing this morning.
00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:55,140
Thank you for the truth behind the songs.
00:01:55,140 --> 00:01:58,100
Thank you for those who are tuning in online this morning,
00:01:58,100 --> 00:02:01,640
those who came here in person, encouraging our hearts,
00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,240
seeing each and every one.
00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,240
And I pray, Father, Lord, that your word will go forth
00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,240
in the power of your spirit this morning.
00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,540
You'll open our eyes to see your word, to understand it,
00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:16,540
to grow therein, and to obey it, Father.
00:02:16,540 --> 00:02:20,540
Receive all honor and glory, we pray, in Jesus' precious name.
00:02:20,540 --> 00:02:24,740
Amen.
00:02:24,740 --> 00:02:26,540
And Ephraim is an heifer that is taught.
00:02:26,540 --> 00:02:33,040
You probably can tell already that the Scripture verse this morning
00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:38,040
is a rather difficult verse.
00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,140
It's not one that you just read and say, "Oh, what a blessing that is."
00:02:40,140 --> 00:02:44,040
It's not one that Brother Doug would pick out for a memory verse
00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,140
and bring to us because we'd be reading it,
00:02:47,140 --> 00:02:50,540
and most of us probably wouldn't be understanding it.
00:02:50,540 --> 00:02:53,840
It's a difficult verse.
00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,440
But as we go through it, God will open it up,
00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,240
as he so faithfully does.
00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,340
God said, "Ephraim," that is the northern kingdom of Israel,
00:03:02,340 --> 00:03:07,540
"was like a heifer, and a heifer is a female cow that has not had a calf yet."
00:03:07,540 --> 00:03:15,840
A heifer is a female cow that has not yet given birth to a calf.
00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:22,440
Now, a cow that has not yet given birth to a calf,
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:27,440
and I'm going to put it on my terms so you can understand it.
00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,740
It'll help me understand it because I have chickens, all right?
00:03:31,740 --> 00:03:35,540
A cow that has not yet given birth to a calf
00:03:35,540 --> 00:03:38,840
is like a chicken that hasn't yet laid an egg
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,140
or a duck that hasn't yet laid an egg, all right?
00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:46,440
Because we've got someone here who's got some ducks
00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,440
or about to get some ducks.
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,040
But until that chicken lays an egg, I'm feeding it,
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:55,840
I'm caring for it, I'm doctoring it,
00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,440
and man, you ought to watch if you want some good entertainment.
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:01,940
I'm catching it when it gets out.
00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:05,640
I'm doing all the work for the chicken,
00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,240
and the chicken's doing nothing for me.
00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,640
You get it?
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:14,440
A cow is like a chicken in that regard, but on a much larger scale.
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:21,840
If I have a heifer, and the heifer's eating my grass,
00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:26,240
and you wouldn't have a heifer this morning, anybody have a heifer in here?
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,740
Used to. Well, that doesn't count.
00:04:30,740 --> 00:04:32,240
What kind of counts?
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,740
Was it on your land?
00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:39,740
All right.
00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:40,740
Did you feed it?
00:04:40,740 --> 00:04:42,240
Did you care for it?
00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:43,640
What did you get out of that heifer?
00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:49,240
Yeah, that's about it.
00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,940
But God had been caring for Israel.
00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:55,140
I mean, if I've got a heifer, it's eating my grass,
00:04:55,140 --> 00:04:58,740
it's eating my feed, it's receiving my care,
00:04:58,740 --> 00:05:02,240
but she's not increasing my herd,
00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,740
and she's not giving me any milk.
00:05:05,740 --> 00:05:09,740
God had been caring for Israel, providing for Israel, protecting Israel,
00:05:09,740 --> 00:05:15,740
and blessing Israel, yet Israel wasn't living for God.
00:05:15,740 --> 00:05:21,640
Just a heifer.
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,240
Soak it all in and give nothing in return.
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,840
A lot of people are like that.
00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,840
She was like a heifer toward God, always taking from God,
00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:34,840
but not giving to God what rightfully belonged to him.
00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:39,040
They were heifers in the house of God.
00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,340
We have heifers in God's house today, too.
00:05:43,340 --> 00:05:47,240
People who think that the Christian life is all about God taking care of them.
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:53,040
God bless me, God help me, God rescue me, God pay my bills,
00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:58,240
God fix my problems, God take care of my health,
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,240
God get my kids out of trouble.
00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,040
And listen, God wants to bless you and help you and rescue you and fix your problems,
00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,040
but God created you to serve him and not the way around.
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:16,540
If we don't think about serving God as long as our needs are being met,
00:06:16,540 --> 00:06:24,840
if that's the only time we think about serving God, we'll just meet my needs.
00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,840
I'll serve you if my needs are getting met, then we're a heifer.
00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,040
If that's all services to us, just getting our needs met,
00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,040
and we don't think about really serving God, we're a heifer.
00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,740
And now a heifer can be used for manual labor.
00:06:40,740 --> 00:06:44,240
Not like a bull now.
00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,440
Bulls are much stronger than heifers.
00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,040
But a heifer can be used for some manual labor.
00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,440
And in this case, God had trained Israel how to work.
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:58,940
Not like a heifer, though he trained her how to work like a bull.
00:06:58,940 --> 00:07:03,840
He said Israel was like a heifer that is what?
00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:07,940
Taught.
00:07:07,940 --> 00:07:09,840
Taught.
00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,040
Now, I want you to listen to how this Hebrew word translated "taught" here
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:17,040
is used in Deuteronomy 4, verse 1.
00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,440
Deuteronomy 4, verse 1.
00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,240
"Now therefore, hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes
00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:31,740
and unto the judgments which I teach you."
00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:36,340
Same word. "For to do them that ye may live and go in
00:07:36,340 --> 00:07:44,540
and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers give with you."
00:07:44,540 --> 00:07:48,540
So what did God teach Israel?
00:07:48,540 --> 00:07:51,440
The statutes and his judgments.
00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,840
Israel was a heifer that had been taught by God
00:07:54,840 --> 00:08:00,240
to do God's statutes and judgments.
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,840
To pull the plow, to break up the fallow ground,
00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,740
to do the hard work, to do his commandments,
00:08:07,740 --> 00:08:11,040
but instead she was like a heifer that had been trained to do a bull's work.
00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:18,440
God had a great arrangement with Israel.
00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,340
"You do the statutes that I teach you,
00:08:20,340 --> 00:08:23,340
and I will bless you in the land that I give you."
00:08:23,340 --> 00:08:27,040
God had taught Israel well,
00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,640
but they weren't doing as they had been taught.
00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,840
They were a bunch of lazy heifers.
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,340
Lazy heifers, and look back at your text,
00:08:37,340 --> 00:08:40,040
and loveth to tread out the corn where I work.
00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:47,040
There's a certain duty that's very pleasant to do.
00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:53,640
I won't tell you all about it, but I'll give you a little idea.
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:58,140
When you're doing this duty, now my wife knows all about it.
00:08:58,140 --> 00:09:00,740
She knows about this duty.
00:09:00,740 --> 00:09:01,940
We talk all the time about it.
00:09:01,940 --> 00:09:04,040
When you're doing this particular duty,
00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,140
you have time to sit down in a comfortable chair.
00:09:07,140 --> 00:09:11,140
You have time to relax,
00:09:11,140 --> 00:09:13,740
and have some quiet time all to yourself
00:09:13,740 --> 00:09:17,440
when you're manning this particular post.
00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,640
And since the post is so nice and cozy,
00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,440
the men want to make sure that they all get their fair share
00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,940
manning that post throughout the day.
00:09:29,940 --> 00:09:32,440
I mean, it's pathetic.
00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:34,840
They'll break it down, divide it up into the little bits of minutes
00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,340
and everything like that to make sure they get their fair share of time
00:09:38,340 --> 00:09:41,940
at that comfortable post.
00:09:41,940 --> 00:09:45,240
And there's one particular man
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:49,340
who's always willing to help out his co-workers, Miss Ann.
00:09:49,340 --> 00:09:53,140
I mean, he wants to help them out.
00:09:53,140 --> 00:09:55,340
He's a stand-up guy.
00:09:55,340 --> 00:09:57,640
He's always willing to help his co-workers out.
00:09:57,640 --> 00:09:59,840
I mean, he's always willing to lend a helping hand
00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:03,240
that he might serve them
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,640
by taking their time working that comfortable post.
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:11,240
I'm not making this up.
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,440
He'll show up early to relieve them at that post.
00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:18,440
He came up to a man the other day.
00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,340
He came down there.
00:10:21,340 --> 00:10:22,240
Now, understand you're sitting in a chair.
00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:24,840
You're relaxed.
00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:26,140
You're the most comfortable you could possibly be at work.
00:10:26,140 --> 00:10:29,940
And he shows up early and he says,
00:10:29,940 --> 00:10:32,940
"I thought you might need a breather."
00:10:32,940 --> 00:10:36,240
"Need a breather, Brother Doug."
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:41,240
Always a stand-up guy, always trying to make sure
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,940
that the other guy doesn't get too worn out
00:10:44,940 --> 00:10:48,940
sitting in that comfortable chair.
00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:53,640
He's always willing to help
00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,140
as long as the help is helping him.
00:10:56,140 --> 00:11:00,140
You see?
00:11:00,140 --> 00:11:01,940
That's the way Israel was.
00:11:01,940 --> 00:11:04,040
You see, treading out the corn, that is that nice, cozy post.
00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:08,940
Treading out the corn was the best job you could get
00:11:08,940 --> 00:11:13,140
if you were in the bovine category.
00:11:13,140 --> 00:11:18,840
Deuteronomy 25, 4 tells us why.
00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:21,840
"Brother Doug, you will relate to this, Brother."
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,340
"Brother Doug, I've heard him say it once.
00:11:24,340 --> 00:11:27,340
I've heard him say it a hundred times."
00:11:27,340 --> 00:11:29,840
"I like groceries."
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,840
I mean, that could be on his epitaph.
00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:33,840
"I like groceries."
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,840
Doug Sexton.
00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:37,340
He loves to eat.
00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:39,340
Just watch next Sunday.
00:11:39,340 --> 00:11:41,840
Watch it.
00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:42,840
How many of y'all have seen his plate on Sunday?
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,340
You're going to understand this.
00:11:45,340 --> 00:11:46,840
You're going to understand why
00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:48,840
treading out the corn was such a cozy job.
00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,840
Deuteronomy 25, 4, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,840
when he treadeth out the corn."
00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:00,840
Why do the ox like treading out the corn?
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:02,840
Why do the heifer enjoy treading out the corn?
00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,840
She got to stuff her face when she was eating that corn.
00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,840
You see, if you were an ox,
00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:10,840
you wanted the job of treading out the grain.
00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,840
When an ox treaded out that grain,
00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,840
they pulled a threshing instrument behind them
00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,840
that separated the grain from its shuck.
00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,840
But the good part was the ox got to eat.
00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,840
All she wanted, all he wanted.
00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:31,840
The law specifically forbade the Jews
00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,840
from putting a muzzle on the oxen's mouths
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,840
when they treaded out the corn.
00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,840
That's why Israel loved treading out the corn.
00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,840
They loved manning the cozy posts.
00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,840
They always happened to serve their master
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,840
as long as it was serving them,
00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,840
which isn't serving your master at all.
00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:56,840
If we're always willing to volunteer
00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,840
for the easy stuff that benefits us,
00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,840
but we're unwilling to serve God
00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,840
when sacrifice is required,
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,840
then we are heifers in the house of God.
00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,840
You get it?
00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:13,840
It kind of stings, maybe, huh?
00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:15,840
You know, there's a lot more to do in God's kingdom
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,840
than simply treading out the corn.
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:20,840
There's burdens for us to bear.
00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,840
You know how you get that corn?
00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,840
You get the corn because some oxen
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:31,840
have to be hooked up to a plow.
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,840
They got to be hooked up to instruments
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,840
to drag along and break up the clods
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,840
and plow the furrows and all the things
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,840
that have to be done for that seed to get put in there.
00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,840
And then men have to plant the seed,
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,840
and then men have to harvest the seed,
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,840
and then they bring it in here,
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:55,840
and then suddenly here's that heifer.
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,840
Well, I'll tread out the corn.
00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,840
He goes up and tells those oxen,
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,840
they've been out there sweating and working
00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:05,840
and breaking their backs all season long,
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,840
and finally harvest time comes in,
00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:11,840
and then the heifer goes up and says,
00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,840
"You guys may need a breather.
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:14,840
I'll tread the corn out for you."
00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,840
That's the way a lot of church people are,
00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,840
what a lot of Christians are.
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:23,840
They're more than willing to watch everybody else
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,840
do the hard stuff, more than willing.
00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,840
And when something easy comes along,
00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:30,840
they can benefit them.
00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:31,840
Well, I'll do that.
00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:32,840
But there's burdens for us to bear.
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:34,840
There's plows for us to pull.
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:36,840
There's fallow ground for us to break up to
00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:38,840
in the kingdom of God.
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:40,840
Praise God for the times when God sets us
00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:45,840
in front of that corn,
00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,840
and we get to tread out the corn.
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:50,840
Thank God there's some times when we get some rest
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,840
while we're serving the Lord,
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:54,840
and we get our bellies full,
00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:56,840
and things are going great.
00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:58,840
I love those times.
00:14:58,840 --> 00:14:59,840
But those times have to be tempered
00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:01,840
with the harder times, too.
00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,840
All the service has to be done.
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:07,840
Our service to God includes hard labor, too.
00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,840
You can't eat corn when you're bearing burdens.
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:15,840
You got something on your back,
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,840
you're an ox, and you get this load on your back,
00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,840
and you're having to walk this load
00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:21,840
and carry it for your master.
00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,840
There's no time to eat corn.
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:25,840
You've got to get moving.
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,840
You can't eat corn when you're plowing up fallow ground.
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,840
There's no corn on that ground to eat in front of you.
00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:36,840
But if all we do is tread out corn,
00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,840
and that's all we do, you know what we become?
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,840
We become fat, lazy heifers in the house of God,
00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,840
spiritually speaking.
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:47,840
We get fed treading the corn,
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,840
but we get strong bearing the burdens
00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,840
and plowing the field, and we get rewarded, too.
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,840
Heifers love to tread out the corn.
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,840
God says, look back in your text,
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,840
"But I passed over upon her fair neck."
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,840
"I passed over upon her fair neck."
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:14,840
Now, if you would underscore the words "passed over."
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,840
"Passed over."
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,840
And in the margin of your Bibles or in your notes,
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:24,840
if you don't like writing in your Bibles,
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:26,840
write down outside of this verse here,
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,840
Exodus 12.23.
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,840
Exodus 12.23.
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,840
"I passed over upon her neck."
00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,840
Now, don't get confused with the words "passed over," okay?
00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:46,840
And don't confuse "passed over" with "pass over."
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:53,840
They're two different things.
00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:55,840
Now, in Exodus 12.23, we're going to see both of these used.
00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:00,840
Then I think this is going to explain this clearly for us.
00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:02,840
Exodus 12.23, this is on pass overnight.
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,840
Listen to what God told Israel.
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:08,840
"For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians,
00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:15,840
and when he seeeth the blood upon the lentil
00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:17,840
and on the two-side post, the Lord will pass over the door."
00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:23,840
So there were two things going on on pass overnight.
00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:27,840
One, God's going to pass through the land of Egypt,
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,840
and he's going to judge Egypt.
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:33,840
He's going to pass through the entire land,
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:35,840
and he's going to execute judgment
00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:37,840
on all the firstborn in every house.
00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,840
When he comes to the Israelites' house
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,840
that have blood on the doorpost,
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,840
he's not going to pass through there.
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:47,840
He's going to pass over that.
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:49,840
See the difference?
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:50,840
Pass over literally means to hop over, to skip over.
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,840
So the word "pass through" here,
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,840
when God passes through the land of judgment,
00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:01,840
that's the same Hebrew word translated,
00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,840
"passed over" here in Hosea.
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,840
So with that in mind,
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:11,840
God's not talking about skipping over Israel,
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,840
but he's saying, if he would,
00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:17,840
"but I passed over upon her fair neck."
00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,840
What he's saying is, "I passed through her fair neck."
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,840
That makes sense?
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,840
"I passed through her fair neck."
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,840
So when God said he passed over upon Israel's fair neck,
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,840
he's saying he passed through Israel's fair land.
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:39,840
Just as he passed through Egypt's fair land
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,840
when he judged it on the night of Passover,
00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,840
God is passing through the wonderful land of Israel
00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,840
that he had blessed, and now he's going to judge it.
00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,840
Makes sense? Why?
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,840
Because she's a fat, lazy heifer.
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:57,840
And so he's going to come in,
00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,840
he's going to say, "I've got something for you, fat, lazy heifer.
00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:04,840
I'm passing through your land,
00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,840
and I'm going to judge you."
00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:10,840
How's he going to judge Israel?
00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:12,840
Well, Israel didn't want to pull a plow for God.
00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,840
Israel didn't want to break up fallow ground for God.
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,840
All they wanted to do is tread out and eat God's corn.
00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,840
So what did God say?
00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:25,840
He was going to--he's going to pass through their fair land,
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,840
look back in your text now in Hosea,
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:29,840
"I will make Ephraim to ride.
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,840
Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods."
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:38,840
Take your pens and underscore these three verbs.
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:42,840
Ride.
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,840
What's the next one?
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,840
Plow.
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:49,840
What's the next one?
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:51,840
Break.
00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:53,840
Ride, plow, and break.
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,840
The Hebrew word "ride" here, don't get the idea of Ephraim
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,840
getting on a horse and riding away.
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,840
The Hebrew word translated "ride" here,
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:07,840
it has the idea of placing something on the back of an animal
00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:10,840
that it may ride on it.
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,840
One modern translation words it this way,
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,840
"I will set a rider on Ephraim."
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,840
Or you could have the picture of God setting a burden on Ephraim.
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:25,840
So instead of a fat, lazy heifer treading out corn,
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:31,840
you've got one that's going to be bearing burdens,
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,840
a burden riding on its back,
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,840
plowing up fields and breaking up ground.
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:43,840
Riding, plowing, breaking.
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,840
The yoke and burden of our God is easy to bear,
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:53,840
but our enemy's burden never is.
00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,840
God did not, I mean, Ephraim did not want to plow God's field.
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:06,840
So Ephraim is going to bear the burden of her enemy instead.
00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:11,840
That's what's going to happen.
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,840
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday,
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:18,840
the day Jesus rode that donkey into Israel.
00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,840
And they cast down palm branches in front of that donkey
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,840
as he bore the burden of the weight of Jesus upon him.
00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:34,840
Church, I don't know all the burdens that donkey bore in its lifetime
00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:42,840
after it bore Jesus.
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:45,840
But I know one thing,
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,840
and it's that that bearing Jesus on his back was the happiest time
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,840
that donkey ever had.
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,840
The best time of that donkey's life
00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:58,840
was bearing the burden of Jesus Christ on his back.
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,840
God said, "I will set a rider on Ephraim."
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,840
Church, we are oxen.
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,840
We were created by our God to bear burdens,
00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:11,840
to plow fields and to break up new ground,
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,840
to bear fruit to the glory of God.
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,840
We're going to bear a rider.
00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,840
We're going to have a burden on our back.
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:23,840
That's why Jesus says, "My yoke is easy. My burden is light."
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:30,840
We're going to serve somebody.
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:33,840
Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters."
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,840
But you know what he never said?
00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:39,840
Some men serve no masters.
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,840
He never said that.
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,840
We're going to bear the burden of someone,
00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,840
the God who created us or the devil who wants to destroy us.
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,840
One burden's going to take us up.
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,840
The other burden's going to bring us down.
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,840
When Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem,
00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,840
he sent two of his disciples in Mark 11,
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:03,840
verse 2 through 3,
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:06,840
"And saith unto them,
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,840
Go your way into the village that is over against you,
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,840
and straightway as ye enter into it,
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,840
ye shall find a colt tied whereon no man ever sat.
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,840
Loose him and bring him."
00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,840
Two things. Loose and bring.
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:28,840
The colt was bound.
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,840
The colt was separated from Jesus.
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,840
Jesus is about to free the colt
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,840
and bring the colt to him.
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,840
And he said, "And if any one say unto you,
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:44,840
Why do ye this?
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:46,840
Say ye the Lord hath need of him,
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,840
and straightway he will send him back ever."
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,840
Before that donkey came again, it was tied.
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,840
When Jesus came, though it was loosed and it was brought to him,
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:59,840
whoever you are, just like that donkey,
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,840
the Lord hath need of you.
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,840
He has a job for you to do.
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:07,840
There is a purpose he created you for.
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,840
You weren't just born into this world, into America.
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,840
You just weren't born to the family you were born into,
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:17,840
just by happenstance.
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,840
You were born with purpose and with God's providence.
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,840
Whoever you are, like that donkey the Lord hath need of you,
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,840
the Lord wants to loose you from your bondage
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,840
and give you a glorious purpose in the kingdom of God.
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:34,840
But if we won't bear the burden of our Lord,
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,840
the Lord has had another rider on our back.
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,840
And that rider will weigh us down in sorrow.
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,840
Here's a kingdom truth for you today.
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,840
To be loaded with the burden of Christ
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:53,840
is a glorious blessing.
00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,840
To be free from the burden of Christ is a heavy load to bear.
00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:02,840
We'll say that again.
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:04,840
To be loaded with the burden of Christ is a glorious blessing.
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:10,840
To be free from the burden of Christ is a heavy load to bear.
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:17,840
It's better to be a strong ox than a fat, lazy heifer
00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:23,840
in the house of our God.
00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,840
With that, we'll go ahead and close.
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,840
Father, we thank you so much for your precious word.
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,840
Thank you, Father, for its convicting power upon our lives.
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:37,840
Thank you, Father, Lord, that you told us with your word
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,840
to rebuke, reprove, and exhort.
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:46,840
It's wonderful to be exhorted.
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:48,840
It's great to be encouraged.
00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,840
And sometimes, Lord, because of our fallen nature,
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,840
we have to be rebuked.
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,840
We have to be reproved.
00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:58,840
We have to be reminded, God, that our nature is to leave the field
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:05,840
and to tread the corn.
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:07,840
But, Father, I pray that we will be the beasts of burden
00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:15,840
that gladly slip our neck beneath the entirety of your yoke.
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:23,840
Because when it's fully on our backs, when it's fully around our necks,
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:29,840
that is the happiest, lightest blessing of all.
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:36,840
In Jesus' precious name we pray, Lord. Amen.
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:40,840
