Hosea 4:1 & 2, “Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, and no acknowledgment of God in the land.  There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”

Dear brothers and Sisters,

Loving greetings in the name of our lord Jesus Christ.  Today let us see about the charges of God against His people.  Let us see with the help of the Holy Spirit al these ten charges which are against the people of God and analyze ourselves prayerfully so that we can escape from the Day of Judgment.   

Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land:

1. "There is no faithfulness, - [one of the signs of last days will be this as in Psa 5:9, “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue.”
   
2. No love, - [no mercy or love in the land but God’s children must have love as in 1 John 4:7 & 8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Without love we are nothing as in 1 Cor 13:1, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”]
   
3. No acknowledgment of God in the land. – [God is the source of all good things and we must respect God and acknowledge his presence every where.  Without acknowledging Him properly also we can give our offerings to him as in Hosea 6:6, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”  If we acknowledge God we will definitely respect Him as in Mal 1:6  "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?']
   
4. Hosea 4:2 There is only cursing, - [Jesus taught His disciples to bless those who curse them as in Mat 5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”. We cannot have double standard as in James 3:10, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”]
   
5. Lying – [The bible says we should not speak a lie as in Psa 34:13, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.” Because only Satan is the Father of all lies as in John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.]
   
6. And murder, - [The Ten Commandments says we should not murder as in Exo 20:13, "You shall not murder.  Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us some thing more to this in the New Testament as in Mat 5:21 & 22, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.”  Apostle John says we should not be like Cain as in 1 John 3:12, “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.”
   
7. Stealing – [The ten commandments says we should not steal as in Exo 20:15  "You shall not steal.”  But the bible says even people can rob God as in Mal 3:8  "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.”
   
8. And adultery; - [The Ten Commandments says we should not commit adultery as in Exo 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.”  In the Old Testament if a man had a bodily relationship with a woman outside the wedlock it was known us an adultery. But our Lord Jesus Christ has said, even if we look at a woman lustfully will be committing an adultery before God as in Mat 5:28, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
   
9. They break all bounds, - [God has established a covenant relationship with Noah after the flood as in Gen 9:9, “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you” later He made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and then Jacob as in Gen 17:9, “Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.”  Also in Exo 2:24 & 25, “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.  So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”  That is the reason the people of Israel were very special among all other people of this world as in Exo 6:5, “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.” God also told them to keep the covenant through his servant as in Exo 19:4 & 5, 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.  Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,” Moses made them to respond in the presence of God as they entered in to the covenant as in Exo 24:7 & 8, “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.  Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." But the Israelites many times forgetting their promise before the lord started following the other people of this world and broke the bound of covenant with the lord.  God also given them a warning about the consequences of breaking the covenant with the lord as in Lev 26:15 to 17, “and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,   then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.  I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.”  Also in Lev 26:25 & 26, “And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands.  When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.”  In the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ has given as a new covenant as in 1 Cor 11:25, “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."  So we have a better covenant than the Old Testament times as in Heb 13:20 & 21, “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
   
10. And bloodshed follows bloodshed. - [There is life in the blood and the blood should not be spilled as in Num 35:33 & 34, “'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.  Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.'"  There is another blood required problem all the believers will face before the Lord on the Judgment day that is if we fail to warn the wicked people and the righteous people of God when they sin God will ask about their blood in our hands as in Ezek 3:17 to 21, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.  Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.  Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul."

May the lord help each one of us to escape from all these charges and enter in to the kingdom of God without fail.  Amen.

With love and prayers,

Yours in the kingdom of God’s service,
Rev. Dr. T. Marcus Devasahayam.