Hosea 8:14 Forgotten God
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
Israel had not forgotten that there is a God. She still knew that He exists and even thought that she was still worshipping Him v. 2. To me they cry, "My God, we--Israel--know you." 3 Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him
Israel knew God intellectually, they believed in God, but she had come to neglect Him by pushing Him to the side. She had allowed other, lesser things (idols) to become central in her life. (Boice)
Erosion that leads to a Forgotten God
Warning10 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you--with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant--and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Duet 6:10-12, Duet 8:10-14, 19-20
Wondering Away And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. Judges 2:10-13
Evidence of Forgetting God
When the Guidance of God disregarded 1 they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. 12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.
When the Lordship of God is dethroned 4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not
When Worship of God is diverted 4 with their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction . . . 6 For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. 11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning Romans 1:18-32
When Hand of God is detached 9 For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. 10 Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up
Effect of Forgetting God
7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind
Principle The principle here is that there is a correlation between what someone does and the resulting effect. Deed is the seed which is multiplied in the harvest. Gal 6:7-9 You reap what you sow, also 1 Cor 15:33 bad company corrupts good morals Wind in the scriptures often refers to what is empty or illusive. Israel here had sown the seed of meaningless religion and shall reap the harvest of judgment . . . (Boice)
Problem To “sow the wind” is a proverbial expression for laboring in vain. It is applied to idolaters, because the silver and gold lavished on idols was unprofitably spent, and it may well be applied to all who seek happiness in a way of sin They expect to find much comfort in the indulgence of their lusts. Hence they yield themselves up to all the gratifications of sense. But they find that such pursuits can afford them no real happiness. While they forsake the Fountain of living waters, they hew out to themselves only broken cisterns that can hold no water Jer 2:13 (Simeon)
Escape from a Forgotten God
Devote yourselves to understand your position in Christ and the principles that lead to living for Christ
Defer to to the Lordship of Jesus keeping Him the only King in your life
Detect and Dethrone anything that takes away from Worshiping Christ alone
Depend on God’s hand rather than trusting the things of this world to aid and assist you.
In Christian circles it is not that God is denied. He is acknowledged, sometimes with great worship and fervor. The problem is that worshippers forget that God must be obeyed and that they must therefore live their lives differently. (Boice)
There are collegians who could be very useful in the Lord’s work but who are useless simply because they are taken up with their studies, relationships, family crisis, status, worldliness, possessions and much more. They have no time to serve God. Oh they show up to worship, but they don’t follow with a passion to serve the one that they just worshiped. Their life is consumed with themselves and their interests and concerns rather than those of the one they just worshipped. They sow to the wind. Others are made useless because of sin. They have forgotten God by the way that they are living, wrongly assuming that you can profess Jesus as their savior while ignoring Him as Lord and master of their life. They find pleasure in sin rather than the savior. They sow to the wind.
Many think that because they profess godliness, they think themselves possessed of it. Simeon Jesus even said Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven John 7:21, see also Matt 25:11-12
You have to look at things with two lens idolatry and worship: Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do, and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing God. Harold Best Unceasing Worship, Idolatry happens when we worship the created, sex, money, fame, glory, power, prestige, whatever the case may be, instead of the Creator. It happens when people get rid of the word of God for images and experiences of gods. When feelings dictate fact rather than facts and deciphering feelings (Driscoll)
Everyone worships all the time. Atheists are worshipers. Buddhists are worshipers. Agnostics are worshipers. Christians are worshipers. People who are living are worshiping. Everyone who’s living is always worshiping, pouring themselves out for someone or something. That’s what we were made to do. That’s what we always do. The only difference is who or what we worship, when or how we worship. The question is not, do we worship? The question is, is our worship to God or is our worship to something other than God, namely idolatry (Driscoll)
The opposite of Christianity is not atheism, but idolatry (Peter Kreeft)
That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your god. (Martin Luther) An idol is a good thing, family, marriage, health, fitness, income. An idol is a good thing that which can become a god thing, which makes it a bad thing. An idol is something that keeps you up at night and gets you up in the morning. An idol is anyone or anything that replaces Jesus at the center of your life. An idol is any created thing that takes the Creator’s place in your life. An idol is what you turn to instead of God to get what you want. If you idolize, you will demonize. Jonathan Edwards If you idolize your job, eventually you’ll demonize your job, you’ll hate it. If you idolize your spouse, eventually you will demonize your spouse and hate them. (Driscoll)
Unbelievers of every description can withstand the word spoken by their fellow-creatures Eze 20:49.; but they will not be able to resist God when he shall call them into judgment. Then, if the whole universe should enter into a confederacy to protect one sinner, they would fail in their attempt Pro 11:21. There is not anything more irresistible to man, in some climates, than a whirlwind. Yet far less power shall the ungodly have to avert the wrath of God. They will be carried to destruction as the chaff before the wind Psa 1:4-5.; and call in vain to the rocks to fall upon them, or the hills to cover them Rev 6:15-17. (Simeon)
The present hours are given us that we may sow for eternity. Every action, word and thought is as seed that will spring up hereafter. According to what we sow now, we shall reap at the last day. Gal 6:7-8 Every moment increases our “treasure of wrath,” or our “weight of glory.” How should we be affected with this consideration! Let us lay it to heart, and “walk, not as fools, but as wise men Eph 5:15-16. There is not a work which they perform for him that will not be rewarded. God would esteem himself unjust, if he made them no recompence: Heb 6:10.. However small and insignificant the service be, it shall not be forgotten Mat 10:42. (Simeon)
“I don’t think I’ll ever return. I can’t stomach the idolatry”, a quote from an Indian pastor’s wife about her visit to America.
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