I. Just Because We Ignore God Doesn't Mean That He's Ignoring Us (vv.1-2)

1. Israel lived like God didn't exist (v.1)

2. God saw all their sin and remembered (v.2)

II. The Cause Of Ignoring God (vv.3-12)

1. Their passion for sin was like a fire in an oven (vv.3-7).

A. The oven was so hot that the baker could ignore it all night and know it would be ready for baking his bread in the morning (vv.3-4).
B. The fuel for the fire was wine (vv.5-7).

1) Hosea describes a palace celebration during which the king and his officers get drunk (v.5)
2) Their drunkenness gives the king's enemies opportunity to overthrow him and even kill him (vv.6-7).

A) Israel had five kings in thirteen years.
B) Four kings were assassinated in twenty years.
C) From the first king (Jeroboam I) to the last king (Hoshea) there were nine different dynasties.

2. They mixed with the nations around them and became like them (v.8)

A. Their bread was baked on hot rocks, and if the dough wasn't turned it would be burnt on one side and uncooked of the other side.
B. Israel's compromise with the world led to an unbalanced conduct and immature character.

3. Selfish politicians and corrupt priests had brought the nation to ruin (vv.9-12).

A. Israel was like a man getting gray and not knowing it (vv.9-10).

1) The nation was losing its strength like someone getting older and weaker (v.9).
2) Their pride refused to admit it (v.10).

B. Their political policies where like doves flying here and there (vv.11-12).

1) They went back and forth between Assyria and Egypt without thinking about the consequences (v.11).
2) They were destined for destruction because God is in control of the nations, not Israel (v.12).

A) God would intervene and try to get them to see what was happening before it was too late.
B) God would spread a net over them to capture them so that they would be preserved.

III. The Result Of Ignoring God (vv.13-16)

1. They had betrayed Their God (vv.13-14).

A. They had strayed from God (v.13a).
B. They had rebelled against God (v.13b).
C. They had spoken lies against God (v.13c).
D. They had totally turned away from God (v.14).

2. They had fallen short of God's standard (vv.15-16)

A. Hosea used the figure of a warped bow whose arrows could not reach their target (vv.15-16a).
B. Israel would be scorned by the very people whom she sought help from (v.16b).

1) The angry Assyrians would fall upon those who had guided Israel falsely.
2) The pro-Egyptian party in Israel would receive no help from Egypt.

Introduction: Chapters 8-10 are messages of imminent punishment about to fall on Israel. In chapter 8, God gives specific illustrations of Israel's rebellious attitude and their coming judgment.

I. The Illustration Of Meaningless Names (vv.1-3)

1. They had broken God's Covenant (v.1)

A. The word "eagle" used here is what we know today as vulture (v.1a)

1) The bird of prey stood for terror
2) Doom had been decreed for the people; God was ready to punish them.

B. Israel failed to obey God's Word (v.1b)

2. They were "followers" in name only (v.2)

A. "My God" was their way of claiming special privilege because of their heritage.
B. They presumed upon God's grace.

3. They rejected God (v.3)

A. The term "good" meant everything for which God stood for, and it symbolized God himself and His will for His people (v.3a).
B. Since the people had rejected all, the only thing that remained was judgment.

II. The Illustration Of Making Poor Choices (vv.4-7).

1. They insisted on not only having a king like the rest of the world (1 Sam.8:4-9), but they didn't seek the Lord's approval of their kings (v.4a).

2. They chose to make and worship idols instead of God (v.4b).

3. Their poor choices led to their rejection and judgment by God (vv.5-7)

A. God asks the question of how long they thought that they could go without being punished for their sins of idol worship.
B. God would break their handmade calf into pieces to show them how useless it was (v.6).
C. They would reap the rewards of what they had sown (v.7).

III. The Illustration Of Making Useless Alliances (vv.8-10)

1. Israel's alliances had made them weak, like a helpless prey waiting to be swallowed up by the pagan nations around them (v.8).

A. Israel's compromises had so cheapened them that Israel was of no value to the community of nations (like a empty pot).
B. Nobody feared them, nobody courted them, and nobody wanted them.

2. Israel was alone like a dumb animal that had lost its way in the wilderness (v.9a).

3. Israel had acted like a common prostitute by selling herself for money (vv.9b-10).

A. Instead of being faithful to her Husband (God), they prostituted themselves to the Gentile nations and lost everything.
B. God promised to gather them together for judgment and they would waste away under the ruthless hand of the Assyrian king.

IV. The Illustration Of Empty Rituals (vv.11-14)

1. Instead of following God's plan for worship they followed theirs (vv.11-12).

A. They built many altars, and Baal worship prevailed (v.11).
B. God had given them "an abundance" of instructions on how to worship and obey Him, yet they chose a ritual without value (v.12)

2. Israel offered sacrifices to the Lord, but ignored the offering's deeper meaning (v.13).

A. That which mattered most to them was the dinner with meat, and not the experience of God's forgiveness (v.13a).
B. Since their sacrifices had no true meaning, their sins were not forgiven and they would be held accountable (v.13b).
C. They would return to "Egypt," i.e., captivity (v.13d)

3. Israel and Judah had stopped putting their trust in God, and instead put it in their fortified cities and palaces for their protection (v.14).